After Saviour
by Rayrawl
Summary: Delena fic- Continuing on after 'The Sun Also Rises What happens if Elena and Damon admit their love for each other after Stefan turns ripper and leaves with Klaus?
1. Chapter 1

Baiscally a TVD story that carrys on after the last episode of Season 2. Delena Themed.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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><p>Damon's alive. He's going to be okay. He's alive!<p>

It hit her as soon as Katherine walked out of the door, she had looked over to him and he had been slowly rising from the bed he had been dying in only moments earlier. Katherine had brought him the cure, it had worked and she wouldn't lose him. There was no thought for anyone else, not Stefan who had gone to save him or Jeremy or who had been injured just hours earlier. All there was for her in that moment was the over-whelming love and relief she felt for Damon.

He gazed at her, mouth slightly open as he took in the facts before him. He was alive because of a woman he hated, and now he was staring at the only woman he would ever really love as she stared back at him. The same beautiful face upon them both, and yet such difference in their being. He took a moment to remember everything that had happened in those last moments, when she had thought he was dying. The forgiveness, the small delicate touch of her mouth against his. If only for a second, it was there and she was his. In the small second he had everything he had ever wanted since coming back here to Mystic Falls. Nothing else in the world mattered to him than that beautiful, delicate human before him who gazed back at him in amazement.

'Damon..'

Elena didn't know what to say, but she saw the understanding on his face. He knew everything she wanted to say to him in that moment. He slowly moved across the room towards her, still not trusting his legs to hold him in his new found life. She seemed a lifetime away and yet so close. The scent of her blood pumping below her thin blue veins, giving off an irresistible heat that made his mouth water, and yet he did not want to bite her. That was the last thing he wanted. All he wanted from her at that very moment was to feel her small, oh so human body pressed against his once again, to feel that same love he had felt in what he thought were his true dying moments.

'I know Elena,' he whispered, 'you don't need to say it, I know. Stefan has risked everything tonight, and we will find him I promise, but please just for tonight let it just be about us, and life, being alive. Just for tonight'.

A shaky breath escaped him as he finished speaking, he glanced down at her and saw her eyes glitter with tears as she raised a hand to his face. Laying it tentatively against him, testing to make sure he was really there and really alive before her. The feel of his cold, real skin under her fingertips secured it for her and the first of the quiet tears spilled down her cheeks. Damon's quick fingers rushed to brush them away, and when they wouldn't stop he took to just trying to comfort her instead. Wrapping his hand around the side of her face, he whispered to her.

'I'm okay Elena, I'm alive, I'm really here'

Elena gasped at his sweet voice, the care and love in his words made her push her face into the palm of his protective hand. She could feel it growing inside her, a feeling that she had repressed until now. Katherine had been right, that it was okay to love them both. Love was all she could feel right now, and it was for Damon. Oh she knew she loved Stefan too, but right now, everything was Damon for her and she raised herself up onto her tip-toes to meet her eyes with his. She didn't need to say anything, they both felt the same. They seemed connected at the very core in that moment, and Damon slowly moved his mouth across her face. Laying soft, barely touching kisses on her forehead, each cheek, the tip of her nose and then finally laying a soft lingering one onto her waiting lips. Her eyes closed as he did it and she let out a breath he didn't know she'd been holding. Quickly she kissed him back, harder than he has kissed her. Holding onto the moment. There was fire building in every place he touched her, feelings she didn't realise could be so intense. She dropped back down to her feet and he leaned down a little, resting his forehead against hers so their eyes were still meeting.

'I love you, Damon'

'I love you too' He whispered back to her, laying another gentle kiss against the end of her nose.


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter is where it gets M rated. Towards the end really.

Reviews are much appreciated

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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><p>It was hours later when Damon softly whispered Elena's name again, he had pulled her to the bed when he realised the day was catching up with her and she was sleepy. He had spent hours watching her sleep peacefully, seeing the dreams fluttering over her eyes and her lips twitch in happiness or pain or sadness. As much as he hated to see the pain and sadness cross her face subconsciously, he cherished every moment she was in that dream world. The fact that she was still alive and could still dream made him happier than he's been in decades. He hated to wake her, but she's been asleep hours and he needed her.<p>

'Elena, it's time to wake up,' he whispered into her ear softly, stroking a finger gentle across her cheek as her eyes began to flicker open, ' come on now, you don't want to sleep the day away.'

'Damon?'

Her eyes shot open as she realised who the man hovering above her was, she had thought it had been a dream. That really she had lost him and she would wake up alone once again. Elena had thought that his voice waking her up had been just part of her imagination, a wishful dream that had made everything seem easier for a while. But there he was, real. Alive. There. Shock must have registered on her face as Damon moved away from her thinking it was because he was in the bed with her.

'No, don't move away. God no, please stay close. I can't bear for you to be away from me again' she whispered to him, tears threatening to fall from her eyes again.

Damon moved closer to her, pulling her into his chest as her eyes welled with tears. He had feared that she thought she had changed her mind when he saw the shock at seeing him cross her face, but her had been wrong. She was just shocked that it hadn't been a dream. Tears spilled from her eyes and moved in slow tracks down her cheeks, dripping softly onto Damon's shirt and soaking through to his chest. He gently brushed new tears threatening to spill from the corner of her eyes, she looked up at him through long eyelashes that cast shadows along her cheekbones. She was so breathtakingly beautiful to him.

'Why did you move away?' she murmured into his shirt, dreading the answer.

'The shock that covered your face Elena, I thought you didn't want me that close to you, I thought you had changed your mind on loving me. I don't want it to be something you feel forced to keep up because I'm alive.' Damon said quickly into the top of her head, laying a small kiss on her forehead when he had finished.

'Oh Damon, that's not what it was. I was just shocked that it was real, that last night was real. I thought you living had been some magical dream that I'd made up in my head.'

She looked up at him, desperation in her eyes. She knew he was there before her, real and okay but she needed to feel him against her lips again. Feel that love coming from him again that had made her feel safe and protected enough to sleep against him last night. Damon saw it in her eyes, that raw need to feel him against her. He just couldn't resist, he leaned down and pressed his lips softly against her willing mouth, their eyes closed at the same time as they connected again. Elena pulled away from him slightly so that she could look down on his face, reflecting in his eyes was her own need and desperation for them to stay like this for eternity. His mouth opened as if to say something to her, but she smothered it with her lips, pressing against him again with such a need that he could do nothing but reciprocate.

Elena felt his strong arms wrap around her waist as he pulled her on top of him, holding her closer that she thought possible, Their mouths locked together, the need to be even closer taking over them both. He pressed his tongue against her lips, begging for her to open her mouth a little. Elena didn't resist, she needed him as much as he needed her. Their tongues melded together, it felt like there was nothing but him in the entire world. He was the ice against her fire and they mixed together in a world that felt like it was burning as they clung to each other. Every place that he was pressed against her felt like it had lightening zapping through it. Electric and alive is how he felt against her. Nothing had ever felt better. Damon exerted a little strength against her and they rolled together, their lips never leaving each other, his hands still around her waist. He looked down at her, drinking in all her beauty, all the need he felt for her came pouring out of him in that very moment. Everything he had felt for her since the moment he had saw her was bare in his eyes at that very moment and she saw it, saw it and reacted so quickly to the desire that he was taken by surprise. Her lips met his again with a force he didn't know she had, their tongues melting against each other again. She pulled his shirt off over his head quickly as he moved his lips slowly, sensually down her neck. Elena took the time to glance down his perfectly sculpted chest, her eyes lingering over the skin just above his jean line and then raising her eyes back up to his eyes again. They met and the need between them exploded into something neither of them had expected.

Damon ripped Elena's shirt away from her body as she gasped against his lips, his hands cupped each covered breast before he could no longer stand it and ripped away her bra too.

'Damon' she moaned into his neck as he kissed, nipped and sucked his way along hers.

He had never heard his name said with such desire, such want in his entire lifetime. He groaned into her as her fingers scratched her pleasure at the feeling of him against her up his back.

'Fuck' Damon whispered in pleasure against her as she ran her other hand down his chest, along his stomach.

Elena pulled at the button holding his jeans together, popping them open and sliding her hand into his underwear. He moved quickly, grabbing her wrist before she could do anything more.

'Are you sure, 100% sure that you want this?' Damon asked slowly, looking deep into her eyes.

'I have never wanted something more than I want this right now, please Damon, please' Elena begged him, desire lighting up her eyes.

Damon growled his pleasure and released her wrist, she moved her hand a little further down. Teasing him by just running her hand lightly over his length. He pushed him self against her hand, the need to feel her around him growing.

'Don't tease me Elena, god don't tease. I need you' he gasped out.

She grabbed his length, running her hand slowly down it as he shuddered against her. Keeping a slow, steady rhythm as he growled, moaned and lightly bit into any bare skin he could find. He pulled open the buttons on her own jeans, sliding them at a vampire speed down her hips along with her underwear. Elena lost her concentration as his strong fingers moved down to touch her in ways she'd only dreamt about before. His longer, slender fingers slipped quickly inside of her. She had never felt something so intense in her life before, the feel of it had her arching her back off the bed, pressing her naked body against him harder. Her hand moved at random speeds along his length as he slipped strong, experienced fingers inside of her until neither could stand not being completely together anymore. He moved off her a little and completely removed his pants before doing the same to her. He grabbed her roughly by the hips and dragged her towards him, she gazed at him, eyes glazed in pleasure as he slowly pushed into her. Elena cried out for him and pushed her hips up towards his thrusts, making him moan.

'Fuck Elena, oh fuck'

He rolled over as she pushed a hand against his chest, climbing back on top of him, she moved slowly on top of his body as his hands grabbed at anything of her. He couldn't not touch her, he needed to be as close as possible to her. The feelings between them were intense, neither had every felt such love, such passion before in their lives. Nothing had ever felt more right, more alive that at that very moment. The intensity brought them both screaming together. Damon grabbed Elena's hips and brought her down hard against him one last time, bringing them both together, she scratched her pleasure out on his skin, lost in the moment of pleasure and love. Nothing else was real other than this. They were together now, completely and nothing else in the world mattered in that very moment.


	3. Chapter 3

Longer Chapter than the last two

Reviews are appreciated :) I need to know what you think

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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><p>They had been laid side by side, holding onto the feeling that was left over from what they had just done. Elena's hand had snaked it's way into Damon's and she clung to it like it was the last thing holding her to this planet, her head lay on his chest lightly. He looked down at her, using his unoccupied hand to brush strands of her long brown hair behind her ears and away from her face. Revelling in her beauty. Neither of them wanted that moment to end, the pure happiness, the way that the only thing that seemed real and important was their bodies still pressed together on the bed they had just made love in. But it couldn't last, there was other things to think about, things that couldn't be ignored. It wasn't long before Elena had to say something.<p>

'What're we going to do?' she asked out loud what she had been wondering for the past half an hour or so.

'Well, I was thinking a little coffee, some food for the human. Or maybe we could just stay in bed' Damon replied huskily, he couldn't keep the tone of desire from his voice as he said that last part.

'Damon, that's not what I'm talking about, we need to think of things outside of us right now. Jeremy, S-Stefan, Klaus. What are we going to do about them?' Elena stuttered over Stefan's name, feeling slightly guilty for everything that was happening with Damon while he was gone.

'I don't know, not yet anyway. ' He sighed, 'We need to talk to Alaric and Bonnie as well, they need to know what's going on. We'll go see them soon I promise.'

Elena pulled herself away from Damon and the bed, pulling Damon's shirt over her head as she stood up. Her head swam as she placed herself on the ground, her body still regaining the use of its legs after the workout they had just had. Damon giggled at her as she swayed, flashing inhumanly quick from the bed and appearing behind her. He placed cool, strong hands on her shoulders to steady her and whispered seductively into her ear.

'And where exactly, do you think you're going?'

Elena shivered as his cool, sweet breath brushed over her ear and across the side of her face, he pressed himself against the back of her body as a reaction to her reaction.

'N-no, don't do that. We need to actually get out of this room. I'm going to shower. No, you can not join me. Then we're going to see Jeremy and Bonnie, call Alaric while I'm getting ready, ask him to meet us there. Okay?'

She sounded sure of herself as she said it, but her legs still felt like jelly and her mind was just screaming at her to get back into the bed and stay there. Elena forced herself away from Damon, taking one last look at him changing into tight black jeans and midnight blue shirt, before disappearing into his shower to wash and get changed herself. It didn't take her long to get ready, she was rushing herself as the worry about what had actually happened took over her. She rushed downstairs and ran straight into Damon, carrying two cups of coffee to the table.

'Good job I have excellent balance' he laughed and set the cups down on the table, 'What's the rush? You know we're not going anywhere without coffee, right?'

'Right, coffee, sorry for knocking you' Elena replied distractedly, taking a cup from the table and sipping it.

It was good, not that she had expected anything less. He seemed to be knowledgeable on all things Elena and that seemed to include her coffee preference.

'I rang Alaric, he's going over yours now and meeting us there. Bonnie was already on her way over, she's going to wake Jeremy up for us' he smiled over to her, noticing how distracted she seemed. 'Elena, stop worrying, we'll fix this. I promise.'

He leaned over the small table between them and laid a small kiss on her forehead, she smiled up at him as she felt his cold, yet soft lips press against her skin again. Remembering how they had felt pressed against her last night. The desire lighting up her eyes again, Damon noticed and winked at her. It felt nice, to finally accept the chemistry between them, no more tension and petty arguments. They both knew what the other wanted, what they had denied for so long now. And that was each other. There was nothing that could change that anymore.

Elena drained what was left of her drink and pushed her chair back, walking over to where Damon was standing, looking out of the window to the side of the house. He was lost in thought and Elena surprised him when she lay a small, warm hand against his back and inquired to whether they were leaving soon. He turned and pulled her into a tight hug, her head pressed into his chest and her arms circling around his waist. She didn't know what he had been thinking off, but she didn't really mind right now. If it led to hugs like this, he could think all the secretive thoughts he wanted.

'Yeah, if you're done we'll leave now' he whispered into her hair.

Elena raised her head and pushed herself up onto her tip toes, kissing his mouth softly and holding him close for a second longer.

'I'm done, lets go' she replied, grabbing his hand and making for the door.

It was a new feeling, one she cherished. Holding Damon's hand in her own and feeling like it belonged there. Like no one else had ever been there. She was sure he could feel it too, the way he looked at her as they got into the car, a look that made her feel warm and protected inside. She had never felt as safe as she did with him. It wasn't far to Elena's home, and they rode in a comfortable silence, their hands connected between the seats as Damon drove one handed. The past few days had been exhausting, she wished inside for a rest, a good thing to happen so that she could just take some days and let what had recently happened sink in, but that wasn't happening anytime soon. They reached the house in record time and walked in hand in hand, they didn't want to hide anything from anyone, somehow they had mutually decided on that without even saying it. The only person who seemed slightly surprised was Bonnie, but she didn't say a word to them about it. All five of them got straight to business after Elena had confirmed that Jeremy was okay, he seemed distant and distracted but he wasn't hurt. She would have to ask what was bothering him when they got some alone time.

'Katherine said that Stefan had gone with Klaus in exchange for the cure that Damon needed' Elena told the others, 'the only thing is that I don't understand why Klaus would want him. He has no use now that he is full hybrid.'

'There are other uses for a vampire, Elena. Killing, information gathering, changing others into vampires. Many reasons. However I do believe that Klaus has a specific task in mind for Stefan' Damon had addressed Elena in the first part, but the rest was intended for them all. 'Stefan has a past, one he has kept from you all. One where he was a blood crazed monster who people called a 'Ripper'. He's ashamed of it, it's why he drinks from animals now. But if Klaus found a way to re-awaken that in him, then no one is safe'

Damon cast his eyes down to the table as the others absorbed what he had said, the shock of hearing of just a tiny part of Stefan's long past had shocked them all. Elena's hand had grasped his beneath the table again and he looked up at her, the look in her eyes was desperate. Searching. She was wracking her brains for a way to make this better, a way to find him, a way to stop Klaus. Anything.

'We'll search for him then, force him to stop. Kill Klaus if we have to, we'll find a way'. Alaric had been the first to speak up.

'No.' Jeremy whispered, 'I can't let Bonnie get messed up in this again, I won't risk losing her again'

'Jeremy! I can look after myself' Bonnie exclaimed, she had grabbed his hand and was now dragging him away from the table, obviously off to discuss his issue in private.

'Okay.. So how do we find them, stop them?' Elena inquired, looking at both Damon and Alaric in turn, hoping that one of them had an answer, a solution that would actually work.

'No idea, we need to gather some information, look around in the news, ask around. See if there has been an increase of vampire attacks or killings somewhere and then start looking there' Damon had turned to look at her directly, forgetting almost that Alaric was still at the table with them. 'Elena I don't want you to be mixed up with this, you could get hurt, I don't know what kind of mind Stefan is going to be in'

'Do you really expect her to stay out of it?' Alaric laughed tiredly, he had been through more than enough since moving here. He too had recently lost Jenna, was fighting vampires and looking after Elena and Jeremy. It was no wonder he sounded tired in everything he said.

Damon sighed and looked at Elena, she had that set look of defiance on her face and he knew he wouldn't be able to talk her out of it. Alaric stood up and went into the kitchen, Damon could hear him making phone calls, trying different sources. You could always count on Alaric to get the ball rolling, thought Damon before looking back to Elena. His heart felt like it was physically aching thinking about the danger she was about to put herself in again, about all the danger she had been in since he and Stefan had come back here. All the pain they had caused her and her family. She must have seen it in his eyes, the sadness in them that came from thinking about the sadness that had taken over her life. She was the human and yet she had been stronger than any vampire that she had come across, including him and his brother. Elena was always strong, especially when confronted with pain, sadness and danger. Even now when she saw his sadness for her, she was strong.

'We'll be okay, Damon, I know it. We'll find him. Then yeah we'll have some things to sort out. But we're going to be okay.'

It was all she needed to say, his pride and trust in the girl he loved grew inside of him till he thought he would burst. He stood and went over to her, crouching by her knees, he took both her hands into his and looked up at her.

'I know' he whispered and rose to kiss her.

That's when they heard it, that familiar sound of smashing glass and startled shouts. They had both risen quicker than they had thought possible, looking around for the danger, a sign of what had happened.

Bonnie, Jeremy and Alaric joined them back in the table just in time to see a figure walk into the room slowly.

It looked like the search for Stefan hadn't taken as long as they had thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it's taken me so long to update, it's been a harsh few weeks with exams and other things.

Anywho, enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing TVD related.

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><p>Stefan's mouth twitched up at the corners when he saw the group stood anxiously before him, a cold, calculated smile that shocked everyone to the core. Even Damon, who had seen him at his worst, stood open mouthed at the man that was before him. Elena had launched forward towards him once she had registered who he was, but Damon had grabbed her wrist to hold her back.<p>

'Look at his eyes, Elena, he's not himself, he's not safe' he leaned forward and whispered into her ear quietly.

'Oh don't be a spoil sport Damon, let her come to me if she wishes.' Stefan chuckled back, his voice different. Dark and harsh, unknown.

Elena backed away and tucked herself half behind Damon, his hand still around her wrist. They all looked inquiringly at Stefan, surely he must have come for a reason. A message to give, a want to return to who he was, anything that would give them a place to start. Instead he just stood, for what seemed like an age, and stared. He stared over each of them, over Damon's hard set face that wasn't quite held in his eyes which gave away his concern, Elena who looked terrified, worried and beautiful all at the same time. To Jeremy and Bonnie, who had moved back behind her human boyfriend and finally Alaric, who looked neither surprised, nor worried or angry. He just looked tired, exhausted actually. Like he'd aged 10 years in the few days it had been since Jenna had died.

'You look tired, Ric, not getting enough sleep these days?' Stefan took a few small steps towards them as he said it.

'Oh I'm fine, how about you? You're looking a little.. Different' Alaric replied dully, a calm in the storm that was about to happen.

'Oh that's because I am, I am so very different, but the same. Back to how I was before I developed this awful human conscience. Back to being a vampire, not a human wannabe' Stefan bit back.

Elena let out a harsh sob from her stance behind Damon, slapping a hand over her mouth as soon as it escaped. Damon turned, laying a soothing hand on the side of her face and looking deep into her eyes. Trying to calm her down before this got even more out of control. Stefan's attention had turned to them as soon as she made that small, human noise. Her heart rate had risen and the small blue veins beneath her neck pushed against the delicate skin there. He had forgotten about how appealing her blood had been to him before. He stalked towards them, the slight movement caught Damon's attention and he moved Elena fully behind him, her trembling hands braced against the small of his back.

'Stop, brother' He warned.

'I should have known, that as soon as you got the chance you would take her. She has loved you for a long time, Damon. I have known since the moment she did. Something changed, but if you think you can take her from me, then you are wrong. I would rather her die than let you be happy with her' Stefan attacked Damon with words, words that once would have just brushed off Damon. Not this time apparently.

The tension in the room suddenly rose to levels none of them had anticipated, they could feel it, the start of a fight that could destroy everything they had been working for in the past few months. Damon dropped into a crouch and growled, an inhuman, protective growl, towards his brother. Alaric made a grab for Bonnie and Jeremy, pulling them back towards the door. He shouted towards Elena to get out but she was too transfixed, too terrified to pull herself away from the two men, the two vampires she loved. Stefan laughed at the sudden stance Damon had taken and then launched himself towards the brother he once refused to fight.

Elena screamed. It was loud, blood curdling. Damon's attention was torn for just a second as he glanced up at her and away from his brother who was still moving fast against him. It was enough time for Stefan to get a momentary advantage. He pinned Damon against the wall, growling against his face. Damon could hardly recognise his brother, the red eyes he had not seen in almost 50 years, the strength behind his weight. It had been more than a century since they had fought like this, again over a girl. A girl who looked exactly the same as the last, but was so completely different. It was Damon's thoughts of Elena that caused his sudden rise in strength, his sudden desire to fight the brother he loved. He had to protect her, even if it was against someone she also loved.

They flashed around the room, a series of growls, crashes and smashed pieces of furniture followed wherever they went, Elena's eyes couldn't keep up, couldn't make sense of who was who. Tears ran warm and salty down her cheeks as she stood frozen, watching the two vampires she loved fight over her again. She couldn't stand it any longer, she began to whisper, small protests calling them to finish this, to stop it. But they weren't listening, at least not yet. She suddenly found herself able to move, she dashed from her frozen spot to the kitchen, Elena grabbed a small, sharp knife and gripped it in her hand. Adrenaline and terror ran through her as she pulled it down her arm and watched warm red blood pool up from beneath her pale skin, a stark contrast. Slowly, she made her way back to the room, Jeremy glanced at her, saw her arm dripping small drops of crimson blood onto the floor as she moved back towards the fighting vampires.

'Elena, no!' He shouted to her, reaching out to grab her, but his hand slid over the blood now flowing freely down her arm.

She pulled away from him, looking over with determination in her eyes, and he knew he couldn't stop her. He watched his sister walk into a room that could mean an end to her, and trusted her judgement once again.

The scent of Elena's blood had reached the two fighting men, now only feet away from her. Damon looked worried, confused as to why she was bleeding. Stefan looked frenzied, hungry. He advanced towards her, brushing any attempt Damon made to stop him off like he was water. Slowly he moved towards Elena, his fangs dropping down over his bottom lip and the veins around his eyes becoming frighteningly dark as the scent of blood became more profound. He was inches away from her, glowering over her with red eyes that were so different to the beautiful gold she was used to.

'Stefan..' she whispered as he reached her, as he grabbed for her arm and dragged her into him.

Damon was frozen, stuck to the spot as he watched this unfold. Finally realising what she had done, why she had done it. She was risking herself again to save them from each other. Always the god damn martyr.

'Stop..' she whispered, hardly audible.

Then suddenly, Stefan dropped her arm, he pushed her roughly back away from him and buried his face into his hands. Screaming a very personal pain into them. He turned, looked directly at Damon who was still frozen to the spot just feet from them. Damon saw pain, anguish in his brothers eyes that he had never seen before. Something that he had thought he would never see. It broke his heart to see his brother in such conflict, such pain. Yet there was nothing he could do that wouldn't risk this sudden change, this fragile moment of clarity.

Damon looked over the shoulder of his brother, to Elena who was paling and leaning limply against the cabinet behind her. Then back to Stefan, wondering which to save first. But he knew, that right now Stefan was beyond saving, and so he just looked at him, with a century of sympathy and pain in the hopes that maybe some of the humanity that had once been there would return.

Instead, Stefan looked up at Damon with the full power of those pained eyes and horror in the set of his mouth.

'Don't try to find me, don't look for me, I can't be around any of you anymore. I am Klaus's now. But brother, I am glad you live. I am sorry' he managed to choke out, and then he disappeared. He ran away from the brother he had always cared for and the only girl he would ever truly love.


	5. Chapter 5

I realise it's been forever since i updated. I apologise, i've been unwell. Hospitals and everything, but i'm back now so enjoyyy.

Constructive critisism and praise is appreciated ;)

Disclaimer: I own nothing TVD related in this chapter other than my own work.

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><p>Elena sat slumped on the dining room chair, looking pale and tired. Bonnie sat close beside her, alert, feeding her little sips of water and constantly asking if she was okay while Jeremy paced uneasily behind them. None of them had spoken out loud about what had happened just moments ago, to Elena it was dazed, she could hardly remember why she was shaking and cold, or why there was a stream of bright red blood drying along her arm from a wound she had apparently inflicted on herself. It wasn't like her to lose control like that, to forget what she was doing and act without thinking. All she could remember was the cold way Stefan had looked at her, and then the sudden violent change she saw when he realised she was bleeding. Bleeding for him. It was warm, but not in the way she wanted, not with love or passion or care; instead with bloodlust, hunger and pain. It wasn't the Stefan she knew, the one she loved. She didn't know where he was, if he was even still inside of that blood-crazed mind, and it felt like it was killing her.<p>

Damon could hear Elena shivering in the next room, felt it like it was his own body reacting to the blood loss. He was barley concentrating on what Alaric was hurriedly whispering to him, something about stopping him, stopping them no matter what the cost. A danger to us all he said, but for the life of him all he could focus on was Elena in the other room, how alone he could sense she was feeling even surrounded by those who loved her. None of them in that room with her understood why she had done what she had like he did. It wasn't until Alaric grabbed him and loudly whispered;

'If you want to save Elena, you need to concentrate. She needs you more than ever right now.'

He was snapped out of his focus at the mention of her name, the mention of saving her. Of course that is what is important right now, her life. It's precious and has been put in danger more than enough, he would do what he could to protect her. Starting with making sure she was no longer alone in her misery.

'I know, Ric.' Damon replied quietly, before strolling gently to the next room, towards the place where Elena sat in her daze.

She glanced up and all he could see was the pain, the confusion that clouded her eyes. Damon rushed to her side then, himself devastated that such beauty could be conflicted with such emotion. She shouldn't have to keep going through this, he thought, she deserves better. His eyes strayed down to the thick line of drying blood on her arm, he had not realised how badly she had injured herself in order to save him. Or to save Stefan. He did not know which of them she had done It for, but at that moment he didn't care. She needed to get cleaned up, to get some rest. He would take her home with him, they could share the pain together if she wanted. All he knew was that he needed her close, safe, with him.

Slowly, gently, he reached a hand out to cover her limp one that lay on the table. Her pained eyes met his and she smiled a small, tired smile at him that hurt his heart to see. He quietly asked Bonnie to get some water and a cloth, telling her that he was okay to clean her arm up, he wasn't tempted by blood that caused her pain. For some reason, now she trusted him. How peculiar, he thought quickly to himself, she hated me just days ago. As Bonnie rose to gather the things he had asked for, Damon took her seat and cupped his spare hand around Elena's thin, cold face and brought it around to look at him.

'We'll get you cleaned up, then we can go home. You can sleep there, you'll be safe, but we need to clean this up first okay?' He whispered to her. She merely nodded a response to him and buried her face further into his hand for comfort.

Elena was unfairly shocked at the care and love she saw in Damon's eyes, she knew he loved her, that he had for a long time. She did not think she could speak, that if she opened her mouth to let words out there would only be the endless scream she was keeping inside of her. Her arm only lightly stung during the whole cleaning process, still too dazed to feel it properly. Why, she thought, is Damon doing this for me. Surely this must cause him pain, he must be exerting extreme restraint right now. He shouldn't have to do this. Just as she was about to try and open her mouth to whisper just that to him, he informed her he was done. She was all cleaned up. Slowly she glanced up at him again, looking at the sudden brightness of his deep blue eyes.

'Thank you' she whispered to him, and he smiled a small painful smile back at her.

Hours, or maybe days later, Elena didn't know, she finally woke up. She had painful, fast flashbacks of nightmares she'd had. Of Stefan's hands closing around Damon's throat, about not saving him in time, about being left alone in the dark with the body of the man she loved. She screamed.

The blood curdling scream came at exactly 3:24 am, almost two days after Damon had brought her back and laid her softly in his bed, telling her to rest as long as she needed. He had been reminiscing on times long gone, when he and Stefan were human, normal. In a world far from the one they were in now. Her scream brought him out of his deep thoughts. At first he thought he had imagined it, but then it continued. That sound that people only make when they are truly terrified, it pained him to the very core of his being and he ran faster than he thought possible to it's origin.

Elena sat upright in his bed, beads of sweat lined the prominent lines of her collarbones and her brow, her hands were clenched in the bed sheets and her eyes were open, full of terror and pain. The sound ceased when she saw him flash into the room, stopping just short of the bed. Her mouth hung open in shock, horror, maybe confusion. Her eyes wider than he thought possible, framed by tears and left-over makeup.

'You're alive..' She whispered, 'I dreamt you were dead, that he'd killed you and I hadn't been there in time'

Elena burst into tears and brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself she began to whisper words quietly over and over to herself. Damon crawled up the bed towards her, slowly as to not startle her. Gently, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight form against his body and making soothing noises. He ran a cool hand along her damp, clammy neck and she pushed herself closer to him as her sobs began to slow.

'Shh,' Damon whispered to her in the dim light of the room, ' I'm here, you did save me, I'm alive, we're okay.'

She looked up at him, slightly uncurling herself, with big chocolate eyes that showed only love and need at that moment. A need to be protected, to be loved in return. At least there was no pain, she trusts me that we're safe for now, Damon thought to himself.

Suddenly she pushed herself harder against him and he fell back, she lay against him as close as possible, as if she was trying to make herself part of him. Make two parts a whole. Elena lay warm, damp lips still salty with the taste of her tears against his mouth, his jaw, his neck. Trying to feel as much of his as she could, to confirm he was real. That this wasn't a dream. She closed her eyes and felt her lips meet his again, gentle but full of need. She absorbed the feeling of him before, much to Damon's surprise, she climbed on top of him and pressed herself as close to him as she could again.

'Elena, what are you doing?' he asked her, confused. Tears still strolled down her face, he didn't understand what she wanted from him.

'I'm cold Damon, I feel empty, like my bloods slowly turning to ice and I can't feel anything but the pain and the confusion anymore. I need you close to me, as close as possible right now.' she gasped, exasperated. Quickly she reached down to lay a hard kiss against his lips. 'Please' she begged.

He could not resist the pain or the need in her voice, the begging look in her eyes. The taste of the salt tears coating her perfect lips that showed just how serious she was right now. He growled lightly and sat up, pulling her legs around him and sitting up against the head board.

'Promise me this is what you want right now.' He gasped into her ear as he lay kisses along her strong jaw and delicate neck.

'I promise.' She whispered back, barely audible. Her head tilted back to let him reach her collarbones, her breasts.

Elena reached a hand down, somehow his pants were already off. Super vampire speed, she thought to herself, before realising her own were gone too. She ran her hand along him, he already wanted her. Needed her as much as she needed him, she could feel it in the hardness she wrapped her hand around.

'I need you, I need you' she whispered against his shoulder over and over.

Damon reached his arm around her and lifted her a little, finding the position her needed. They clung together, her legs around him, in a close sitting lovers position. She looked down at him, begging him with her eyes to just do it. She needed him right now, and as he lowered her back towards him she pushed forceful kisses against his mouth. As he pushed his way slowly inside of her, she whimpered in pleasure and need and desire, noises that made him want to protect her and ravish her at the same time. Elena pushed herself closer against him, if it were at all possible. They clung to each other, arms wrapped around backs as if they were afraid to let go. Legs tangled in a knot that seemed un-breakable. He moved slowly, hoping that it was what she wanted, what she needed, but then she started to pull herself down against his body harder. Faster. Her clammy, damp body colliding with his with more strength than he thought she had in her and he knew right then what she wanted. He understood because suddenly he felt it himself. They looked at each other, sensing the moment of understanding, tears still streamed down her face as she came to accept that they both felt the same way. And they let themselves go, let themselves run with that need. It was easier than accepting that there was anything worse in the world than losing each other.


	6. Chapter 6

I know it's been so long since i written for this, and the third season has started, but i figured that while it's on hiatus i should update. So here you go. I hope you enjoy it :) Review and stuff, so i know what you all think of it.

I have used lines out of the actual show at the end of this chapter, for the effect.

Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, anything TVD related.

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><p>Elena had slept peacefully all night, no tossing or turning, no nightmares, no sleep talking. She'd fallen asleep curled against Damon's cool body with his fingers running soothing circles around the small of her back. He'd never seen her look so vulnerable, so hurt, in the entire time he'd known her and it was killing him that none of this would have happened if he hadn't come back to Mystic Falls. It was killing him that most of the pain she'd endured since the vampires had come back had been because of him; he knew that wasn't entirely true, but he couldn't help blaming himself. Stefan had ended up like he was because of him, Elena was in constant danger and always hurting because of him, Bonnie had lost her grandmother because of his need for that bitch Katherine. All of it was his fault, and he didn't think he could lay there and watch her sleep against him, thinking she was safe with him there, anymore. So in the early hours of the morning when he was sure Elena wasn't going to wake up, he slipped away into the dark and left her lying there in his bed unaware of his exit.<p>

It was just a little after 5 in the morning when Elena woke up with the eerie feeling that she was being watched. She reached across the bed with one hand, he eyes still closed, looking for Damon. When she came up empty, her eyes shot open, and her entire body tensed. If someone was watching her, and it wasn't Damon, then she was in trouble. Her mind awakened quickly, she ranged her senses out to hear for someone moving around in the room. Nothing registered, just a weirdly still silence that made things worse. Vampire, she thought.

'Oh good, you're finally awake.' a smooth, gentle voice breezed around the room with a familiar memory.

'Stefan..' she whispered back, sitting up onto her elbows and taking a look around the room, darkly lit with the light of early morning. She thought she caught a glimpse of him standing in the doorway, but the silhouette disappeared in a flash and a cool breeze filled the room as he strived to keep his position a secret.

'You know, If I turn on the light I'll be able to see you, right?' Elena asked in a tired, sarcastic tone. She was bored of his games, of his always having to be secretive and careful. The light flicked on anyway, he stood by the doorway again with his dark eyes averted away from her. His mouth drawn in a difficult grimace that made Elena's heart wrench as the thought of his pain.

'Damon disappeared early this morning, I have no idea why.' He said in a withdrawn tone, keeping his voice free of emotion.

'H…how do you know that?' Elena whispered, making a move to get out of the bed. Her feet touched down on the ground and she almost stood, but suddenly Stefan was in front of her, his hands half reached out to collect her to him. She tumbled backwards a little at his sudden closeness and fell back onto the bed stretching out behind her. She looked up at one of the men she loves with wide eyes that showed the pain, confusion and happiness she felt at him standing there before her. He looked down at her with eyes that finally showed everything he couldn't say to her, they glistened with tears that threatened to spill over the edge at any minute. A cool, strong hand reached out and cupped Elena's face, salty tears she didn't know she was crying dripped down onto the gentle fist that surrounded her face.

'Oh, I've missed you.' Stefan whispered, almost to himself, his own tears finally running their way down his chiselled cheeks. He collapsed down on the bed next to her and twisted to face her, running cool, shaking fingers across her face and wiping away her tears.

'Don't cry for me Elena, I've hurt you enough as it is.' Stefan whispered, his eyes falling away from her face.

'How're you here? Does Klaus know or has something happened?' Elena's voice shook as she asked, emotion choking her words. She felt wrong, this felt wrong. And where was Damon?

'Shh now, it doesn't matter.' He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers, it felt like ice against fire at that moment, like the missing piece of a puzzle you'd been trying to complete for a long time. Both his hands rested against her face now, and he moved to press his lips against hers. They touched, lightly, like the brush of silk against the softest skin, but it had the potential to be something more. Something bigger. And then he was gone.

At least that's what Elena thought, his lips had left hers and the comfort of having him close was again ripped away from her, but then the sounds of a violent struggle found its way into her consciousness and she was shocked into what was now a terrible fight happening right before her. Klaus threw Stefan against the window at the other side of the room, glass shattered around him and blood seeped onto the stark white of his shirt.

'You lied to me, ripper. You continued to tell me that this one was dead, but there she is, very…' Klaus ran over to where Stefan lay slumped and pulled him to his feet 'Much.' He slammed his head against the wall behind him. 'Alive.' He finally screamed at him as he threw him out of the newly smashed window.

'Stefan!' Elena screamed, she made to run towards the window but Klaus grabbed her and pushed her against the wall where Stefan's blood was smeared. The metallic smell of it so near made he feel nauseous, but Klaus's hand around her throat, lifting her feet from the ground took the attention from the blood. She clawed and scratched at his strong, immortal hands around her throat to no avail. Her breath wheezed out of her in tight, strained gasps and she pleaded with what little air she had left, not for herself, but for the others she loved.

'If you..' gasp, ' kill me you ha..' gasp,' have to leave them alone..' gasp,' promise me.'

'Oh dearest Elena, even if I promised that, you won't be around to see if I stick to it.' His hand constricted tighter around her throat and she had no air left. Her head began to feel heavy, her hands grew weak and her voice was now just a whisper.

'Damon..' she choked out, one last gasp in hope that he might hear. Suddenly, Klaus's hand was no longer around her throat. She took a monumental breath in and clarity returned to her, she looked up whilst massaging blood back into her neck and brain. There was no longer anyone in the room with her anymore, but vicious noises arose from the yard where Stefan had landed when Klaus had thrown him. Elena ran as fast as she could through the huge Salvatore house, reaching the door quicker than she thought possible. The door flew open as she pulled at it, the cold night air swept in and hit her like icicles. Damon pinned Klaus against the floor, Stefan stood helpless. Under the control of Klaus and his ripper bloodlust.

'Elena, RUN!' Damon shouted when he realised she was there. He became distracted by her presence for just a second and Klaus took advantage of it, slamming Damon against the wall. He punched his head against it, but it did little damage as Damon was on guard again. Elena couldn't move, nothing was working other than her eyes and her ability to feel the horror of what was going on. Damon went to make another grab at Klaus, but he disappeared from where his hands grabbed. Klaus stood behind Stefan, his hands wrapped around his head ready to break his neck.

'Take one more step towards me and I'll kill him. I swear it.' Klaus shouted from his violent position behind Stefan. Damon moved towards Elena, to protect her, but Klaus again shouted over.

'I can be there in a second, and she can be dead in another, before you do anything.' He threatened, still not having moved from his stance. Damon stopped in his approach. Klaus nodded towards him in approval of his choice. He let Stefan stand, sure that he was under his control once again, and turned one last time to talk to us.

'Don't go anywhere, doppelganger, I'll be back before you know it. Now come a long ripper, we have things to be doing.' They turned and sped away in a blur too fast for Elena to register. They were gone, it was all that she noticed, they were gone and Stefan was still under his control. Her legs gave way beneath her and she fell to her knees on the gravel of the Salvatore house drive way. Sobs found their way escaping from her mouth, the pain and the shock and the horror finally took over her. The cold no longer seemed to bite into her skin as her other emotions took over her. She felt Damon's hands brush the hair back from her face, his fingers pull her chin up so she was looking at him. Once again her tears fell down into strong hands holding her. His eyes so full of concern and pain.

'Where were you, Damon?' She whispered, as she fell forward towards his chest and lay sobbing against him.

'I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left. I promise, I will never leave you again.' He gathered her into his arms as she sobbed. There was nothing he could do for her now.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it's taken me so very long to update, but i seem to have been spending more time in hospitals, at appointments or doing exams that i do at home and therefore havn't been able to write. :(**

**This is sort of a soppy kind of chapter, no 'M' rated content, but something that i wish would actually happen in TVD. I just want Elena to admit she loves him and my delena shipped heart is being torn because she is just straight up refusing to do it. The past few episodes before the hiatus killed me.**

**I hope you enjoy this, any comments you have will be appreciated :)**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing related to TVD(sadly)**

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><p>It had been exactly 3 weeks and 4 days since that awful night with Stefan and Klaus, since Elena had watched what was left of her faith that things might get better disappear into the night. Damon had kept good to his word, he never left her again, he'd been by her side ever since. Holding her close when she woke from a nightmare, wiping away the few treacherous tears that spilled over the edge of her eyes when she was trying so hard to fight them, holding her hand as she walked through the streets and got jumpy at every loud bang. It wasn't like her, two weeks after the 'bad night' and she was still a wreck, still edgy and painfully over-aware of everything happening around her, like the slightest thing could erupt into yet another painful scene. Elena hadn't yet asked Damon why he wasn't there, lying next to her in bed the night Stefan came to her. She was afraid of the answer, of him not wanting her the way she so desperately wanted him. Him not needing her the way she needed him, and that made it too difficult to ask and to difficult to really open up to Damon about how she was feeling. He was trying so hard to be everything she needed, trying to make up for not being there and she was doing nothing to show that she appreciated what he was doing. She couldn't bring herself to, afraid it would open up a whole conversation she didn't think she was ready for yet. Elena knew though, that it couldn't keep on the way it was for much longer.<p>

Damon laid beside Elena, she had her back to him and was pretending to be asleep. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, hold her to him, ask her what those silent, painful tears that were streaming down her face while she turned away from him were for. Yet he was afraid of the answer, afraid that she would turn him away and close down. That she wouldn't be the same girl he'd left alone in bed that night. He'd left her, she could have gotten really hurt. He couldn't forgive himself for that, so how could he expect her to. Damon listened to the tiny tell-tale hitching of her breath and knew that she was still crying, still lying so still and so alone in her pain and blamed no one but himself for her pain.

Damon hadn't been asleep long when he heard Elena cry out in her sleep, he hadn't allowed himself to shut his eyes for long until her tears stopped and she slipped into unconsciousness herself. Another nightmare wracked her body, her mind. The tears were sliding in thin tracks down her slender face even in her sleep, her body twitched and writhed around on the bed as she fought off whatever demon encased her dreams tonight. It pained him to watch her like this, to have to comfort her and tell her that it wasn't real. He wanted nothing more to protect her from everything hurting her. Carefully he pulled her stiff, sleeping body into his arms and rocked her, stroking her hair and whispering to her until she woke up. Elena had cried out more than usual tonight, her arms flailed as he tried to keep her pressed to him. Damon's own name escaped in a terrified scream before she woke up and he startled, afraid of what her reaction would be like when she realised it was him holding her through a nightmare that centred around him. He watched her deep chocolate eyes flutter open, tears still escaping the corners of them and trailing across the side of her face to land on his bare chest. They were filled with such sadness, a deep pool of loss and sorrow. Elena looked up at the man holding her and sobs began to rack her body, she burrowed further into him and pressed her face against his chest. Her tears were cold droplets against his skins, her crying rocked them both and he held her. He held her and prayed that she wouldn't hate him for what he had done to her forever.

Elena's sobs quieted after a while, her body stilled beneath Damon's hands and she took a deep breath against his skin. He smelled like soap, expensive aftershave and sleep, and those smells calmed her. She was safe against him, and she began to relax. Damon's fingers ran through her hair comforting, but that wasn't all she felt against her head. Tiny little tears dropped lightly into her hair. Was Damon crying? Elena pulled out of his grasp a little and he let her go, her eyes travelled up to his face and the drying tear tracks left clear marks down his perfect face. His eyes held pain, they held loss and Elena couldn't understand why the look was there now.

'Damon..?' Elena whispered, cupping a hand against the side of his face. He pulled away from her touch slightly, like it pained him to have her there.

'You don't need to comfort me Elena, I understand, it's okay.' Damon replied, his face turned away from her, his voice broke when he said her name.

'Understand what, Damon? I don't get what you mean, why are you crying?' Her voice was puzzled, confused as she tried to pull his face back towards her. Damon turned slowly again to face her.

'Your nightmare tonight, it was about me. You screamed my name before you woke up Elena, you were terrified. I'm not surprised, I'd be scared of me too. I've hurt you and let you get hurt so many times. It's okay, you don't need to explain.' He whimpered into the darkness, tears welled in his eyes again, threatening to spill over. Elena's eyes widened, shocked at what he just said.

'My nightmare wasn't about you Damon. Well it was, but not in the way you think. It wasn't you I was scared of Damon, I was scared for you.' Elena's voice pleaded with him, begging him to understand, she wanted to drive that pain away from him and have him hold her again.

'You were.. Scared for me? Elena, you don't need to protect my feelings. I know I've let you down, I know I have. I'm so sorry, I'll leave if you want me to. I know I said I'd never leave you again but if it's what you want..' Damon trailed off as Elena's hand cupped the side of his face again. She leaned in to lay a tender kiss against his mouth and Damon let out a sigh. It sounded painful, like he thought it would be the last kiss from her he would ever have.

'Listen to me, I don't ever want you to leave me, Damon. I need you, I want you. My dream was about you being hurt by Klaus and Stefan, I was scared I was losing you but you didn't seem to care the same way about me. Oh Damon, I've been so scared that you didn't want me the way I want you, that you didn't need me the way I need you. Please, don't be sad, please. I love you.' She whispered those last three words against his chest where she had collapsed against him sometimes during her talking.

'Oh Elena, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I thought by leaving you that night I was protecting you from more hurt than I've already brought you. I thought you'd have been happier but you got hurt instead. Since that day I've tried to just let you be, let you make your own decision about leaving or staying without breaking my promise. I thought you didn't want me around anymore after what I'd done. I can't forgive myself for it, I couldn't expect you to either. Have I been an idiot, Elena, a fool?' Damon's voice held hope and sorrow and need. She finally had the answers she wanted, she understood why he left and she forgave him completely.

'Yes, you've been a fool Damon. A huge, huge fool.' Elena looked up at him again, she raised to lay another kiss against his lips again to try and chase some of that pain from his eyes.

'Oh god, I love you Elena. I love you so much that it hurts my heart to think I might lose you. I love you.' Damon murmured against her lips, he pulled her closer to him and held her. They just lay together and let the moment wash over them, let themselves feel all that want, all that need and know that they love each other despite everything. All the other issues and problems and pains could wait for now. Nothing else mattered in this world other than holding each other and letting all those emotions and all that forgiveness and understanding wash over them both as they fell back into a peaceful, lulling sleep cuddled into the protection of each other.


	8. Chapter 8

**It's not my best written chapter, but since i've only been out of hospital 12 hours and i've just written this i'd like to think it's alrightish..**

**Any and all reviews/comments are appreciated :)**

**Disclaimed - I own nothing TVD related (unfortunatly)**

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><p>Elena's hand found Damon's beneath the table they were sat at, he turned his head towards her and gave her a quick upturn of that perfect mouth. A tiny reassuring smile, and began stroking his thumb across her palm, trying to sooth her. They sat around the table in Elena's kitchen with Caroline, Bonnie and Alaric. Jeremy was at school, they had wanted to keep him out of this as much as possible and that was proving harder than they imagined. Bonnie hated keeping secrets from him, he spent so much time with Alaric, it's almost like he finds trouble no matter who is he with. For this though, they were keeping Jeremy out of the loop, it was just too dangerous.<p>

That morning, Elena had woken when her phone rang, Damon had wiggled out from their cuddle to grab it from the floor before it woke her but he was too late. She turned and watched him answer, making sly digs at someone across the phone, laughing at whatever retort they gave. It was Bonnie, she was the only person he did that with, Elena didn't think they'd ever get along. Damon had said goodbye and turned to tell Elena that they had to meet the others soon, that something had happened last night with Bonnie, and that's how they'd ended up once again having a group meeting at Elena's kitchen table.

Bonnie's wide, dark eyes watched Elena and Damon across the table as she explained that the night before Klaus had visited her. They seemed happier, closer, but distracted. That was bad right now, they couldn't afford to be distracted. Caroline's shrill voice interrupted her mid-speech as she was explaining about the visit, her wide eyes glaring at her across the table.

'You mean evil hybrid Klaus came to you last night and you didn't think to ring any of us THEN? Have you any idea what kind of danger you could have been in. Jeez, Bonnie! We can't all keep letting ourselves be in danger like this.' Her face twisted as she let herself remember all the danger they had been through the past year, all the pain and loss and she showed it to Bonnie. She meant to make her feel bad.

'I can look after myself Caroline, he might be an original hybrid, but witch powers still work on him.' Bonnie replied angrily, defending herself to her best friend.

'No Bonnie, Caroline is right, he has witches on his side. Powerful ones, you should have rang one of us, being by yourself just puts you in more danger.' Elena looked at her best friend and tried to make her understand, but her face was set in determination. Whatever she said next probably wouldn't be pretty.

'What, you mean like you rang all of us when Stefan and Klaus turned up and dragged you out of his,' she pointed angrily at Damon, 'bed. You didn't ring us then and Damon wasn't with you all the time it happened was he.' Elena felt Damon's hand still in her own. They had not long ago fixed the problems that night had caused for them, but Bonnie's words cut deep. They all sat in silence around the table, Alaric gave them all tired eyes, having not added anything yet to the conversation, tension grew between them as the silence widened. It had been a cheap and cruel shot for Bonnie to make, and everyone around the table understood that.

Alaric took one more tired glance around the others at the table and let out a quiet sigh. He was going to have to be, once again, the person to get this ball rolling. To fix it and get them moving again.

'Alright, enough of this, we have more important issues. So, Bonnie, Klaus was there because he wanted help with a spell? Did he say what kind of spell, what it would do?' Alaric broke the silence and the tension between them all visibly dropped.

'It was some kind of releasing spell, something he wants opening or freeing. I don't know, he just said he'd contact me again soon. It was creepy, almost like he was trying to get me freaked out instead of just trying to get me to help him.' Bonnie replied, looking directly at Alaric. Damon's thumb had began moving in small circles across Elena's palm again and she looked up to smile at him. His eyes lit up slightly when he glanced down at her.

'So, we need to find out what kind of spell he is looking for, maybe there is something in the old grimoirs?' Caroline suggested.

'There'll be nothing in the grimoirs, love.' A voice came from the door way behind them all, the accent made it sound more friendly than it actually was. Klaus leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed against his chest and he smiled a cold, calculating smile at them all.

'I'm sure I told you not to tell your friends, witch, but never mind, ey. Now I can just get all of them to help me.' He strode into the room to stand behind Bonnie at the table, his hybrids filled the door way, blocking any exit they might have had.

'We won't help you unless you tell us what it is for. What it will do. Even then, we still might not. Klaus you can't just demand things of people. We're not your puppets, not like them.' Elena lifted her chin and looked at the hybrids, they just started back at her. Their undying faith in Klaus was never going to stop being creepy. Klaus just laughed lightly at her. Damon's hand tightened in hers, warning her not to push him any further.

'Oh dearest Elena, I'm not asking, I'm telling. You'll do what I say, or there will be consequences.'

'And what exactly will those be Klaus, what more damage could you possibly do.' Damon asked, angry filtering into his voice as he started at the older vampire across the table. Again, he just looked at them and laughed.

'So much more, Damon, so much more.' He suddenly wasn't beside Bonnie anymore, he flew around the table and grabbed Elena around her ribs, lifting her up and away from the table. Away from Damon, he had to let go of her hand or her arm would have been broken. Klaus pushed Elena against a wall, a hand constricted around her throat as he choked the last of the air from her. Damon stood, throwing his chair back away from him, a low growl escaped in a long vibration of his lips. Another witch was battling with Bonnie across the table telepathically, the hybrids moved around, surrounding the other two vampires and Alaric, they would have to fight. Someone would be injured, in order to get to Elena. Damon watched her head fall forward, her beautiful eyes fluttered shut and her hair fell across her face. He could still hear her heart beating lightly, but her chest did not rise and fall. She wasn't breathing.

'You will do as I ask, or I'll take my doppelganger away and you'll never see her again. I can't kill her, obviously, but I can hurt her. Do as I say, and maybe I'll return her to you.' Klaus lifted Elena into his arms and ran from the room, through a path that his ever faithful hybrids created for him. Damon tried to fight his way through them, to her. He limp body lay in Klaus's hands, being taken away from him, and once again there was nothing he could do to stop it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Bonjour, mon amis! I am procrastinating and not writing my English Literature coursework, which is why you're getting so many updates at the moment. I hope you enjoy this one, it's a bit more thought out, the story is finally going somewhere.**

**I appreciate all reviews and constructive criticism.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing TVD related.**

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><p>The hybrids left with the other witch a little while after Klaus had taken an unconscious Elena out of the house, giving them a head start. Damon wouldn't be able to follow them now. His hand came down in a harsh crash against the table, he screamed a low, dangerous scream and looked up at the rest of them with tears threatening in his eyes and a fierce determination set in the lines of his face. Elena would remain alive, he knew that, but god knows what kind of pain he would put her through. What he would force her to do, Damon felt sick at the thought of her never coming back to him.<p>

Bonnie looked down at the table, away from Damon's face. She knew what he was going to demand of her, but she couldn't do it. Not even for Elena. Whatever it was that Klaus wanted, it would probably be a fate worse than her being with him for the rest of her mortal life. She wouldn't risk anyone else she loved for the sake of one.

'You have to do what he says, Bonnie. We can't leave her with him.' Damon exclaimed angrily across the table, seeing the reluctance in her body language as she looked away from him.

'No.' Bonnie whispered back, walking away from the table towards the kitchen counter.

'NO? How can you even say that Bonnie? That is Elena, that is your best friend, my best friend. We have to save her from him!' Caroline shouted at her, her voice raising octaves above her usual level. Tears streamed down her cheeks in faint patterns as she glared astonished at Bonnie.

'He won't kill her, we know that. He won't torture her… forever. Whatever he wants doing will end up having worse results than letting him keep Elena. I won't let anymore people I love get hurt for the sake of one person.' Again, Bonnie only whispered, her back turned to them as slow tears formed tracks down her own cheeks.

Damon stared intently at the back of the witches head, trying to figure out why the hell she was doing this and trying to control the tears that threatened to spill over his eyes. He'd almost flew across the room and beat her when she said what she had said, even Alaric's tired eyes had widened in horrified shock. None of them could believe she was saying this, believing that this was the answer. Didn't she understand that this was Elena they were talking about. Precious, human, fragile, beautiful Elena. How could she even stomach the thought of leaving her with that bastard.

'If you won't do what he wants, Bonnie, he'll just find another powerful witch to do it for him and Elena will suffer more. Is that what you want?' Alaric questioned her as he moved across the room towards her. His movements were overly controlled, like he was trying to stop himself from saying or doing something he would regret. Damon knew that he cared for Elena almost like a father would, but at that moment he began to understand truly how much.

'No, but I won't do it. I won't be another slave to his will. I am a Bennet witch and I am better than that.' Bonnie looked up defiantly at them all, looking each of them in the eye and then storming out. She slammed the door that Klaus had left open behind her so hard that if felt like the foundations of the house themselves rocked.

Caroline stared open mouthed at the door that had just slammed into place, the tears still sliding down her cheeks. Pure rage had taken over Damon's sadness, his tears replaced by an almost terrifying anger and desire to get Elena back. Alaric was stood between the table and the kitchen counter, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes down and looking at the floor. Bonnie had shocked them all, confused them all. How could she do that to them, to Elena? Her best friend? None of them understood.

'We need a plan, to get her back with us. With or without Bonnie's help.' Alaric said, almost thinking out loud. He looked up, almost looking shocked that he'd said it out loud.

'Yeah, but we can't do it alone. We're going to have to call in some kind of favour, some kind of reinforcement.' Caroline replied, looked baffled at where to go from here. Damon let out a long, long breath and gave himself a moment to gather his thoughts.

'We could call Katherine, or try and find a loop hole in Stefan's compulsion. He still.. Loves her. I think he would help.' Damon said quietly, not looking up at either of the other people in the room.

'Too dangerous, one or more of us could get hurt by either one of them.' Alaric replied, moving towards the table and collapsing into the chair Bonnie had previously been sat on.

'I DON'T CARE.' Damon's fist came down again on the table and it cracked through the middle under the force of it all. He took a deep breath, to calm himself, before looking up at the others with his eyes so filled with the pain of losing her.

'I don't care what they do, they just have to help us get her safe. No matter what the personal cost might be this time.' He whispered, almost under his breath.

'Agreed.' Alaric sighed.

'Yeah, but where to start?' Caroline asked.

Damon had tried calling Stefan on any number at any place that he might possibly have been, there wasn't a single answer. He was totally off the grid to them, hiding probably. Or ordered to stay away by Klaus, either way, he wasn't going to be helping them. Katherine, on the other hand, had picked up straight away. She'd purred Damon's name and tried to flirt unsuccessfully at him. It wasn't long until she picked up on his mood, he explained what had happened. Everything, from what had happened the night Stefan had showed up in his room to what had happened around the table today. Katherine would be in town by nightfall.

Alaric had gone back to his apartment with Caroline to gather his things, the tools he would need for whatever it was they would do to get Elena back. The thought of losing another person in his life hurt his heart and his head, his stomach twisted at the images in his head of Klaus breaking bones in her body or cutting her up in irreversible ways. All the tiredness that had resided in him after Jenna's death was now wiped away in a wave of fear and protectiveness and adrenaline. Together, Caroline and he carried everything from stakes to what looked like a small flame thrower to his car and loaded It up. Whatever was coming, they were going to be prepared.

Katherine kept good to her word, turning up at the door of the Boarding house the minute the darkness fell. It was where everyone had decided to re-convene. Jeremy had been compelled by Caroline to stay at a friends house tonight, away from the horrid danger they were all about to put themselves in. Damon stood by the fire place, a glass of whiskey laced with vervain and blood in his hand. He watched as Katherine, so alike Elena in looks and yet so different in personality, sauntered in and fell gracefully into the armchair opposite him. Caroline stood slightly to his left with Alaric just beside her, they stood and watched her every move, not trusting her a single iota.

'Sooo… this is how you greet the girl who's going to save your doppelganger?' Katherine smiled up at them all, a cold, small upturn of the mouth that made her look more dangerous than ever.

'And how exactly do you think that will happen? How do you propose we do this? We don't even know where they are!' Damon exclaimed, throwing his glass against the marble mantle piece above the fire. He was really going to have to stop doing that, he was quickly running out of crystal tumblers.

She looked up at them all and let out a quick, shocked laugh. It sounded like she thought they were all being incredibly slow.

'How can you not know where he is? Is it not obvious, this was his town thousands of years ago. Where do you think he would go?' She directed her questions at Damon, his eyes meeting hers as she taunted him lightly with the fact that she knew information that he didn't.

'They're at the original caverns, aren't they?' Caroline whispered, her eyes wide.

'Well, you were quick off the mark tonight, Blondie, congratulations.' Katherine clapped slowly at her, making Caroline glare angrily at her.

'Okay, so we know where, now it's just the how?' Alaric said, looking around the room, trying to keep the tension and the anger to a minimum. They were all going to have to work together for this to go well.

'I thought this would be more obvious Ric, especially to you!' Katherine exclaimed in mock shock.

'And why would you think that, Katherine?' Damon asked on Alaric's behalf, his eyes glaring in suspicion.

'Because us mere vampires can't get down there, I tried on my way into town. However, It would appear that the originals have found a way in. That means that out of all of us, only Alaric can get in.' Katherine directed her entire gaze to Alaric, 'It's all up to you to save precious princess Elena, step-daddy.'


	10. Chapter 10

**Looonnnggg chapter, but there's a twist at the end. I'm sorry to have had to do it, but something had to happen and this was the best i could come up with.**

**Reviews/constructive criticism always appreciated!**

**Disclaimed: I own nothing TVD related in this story.**

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><p>Alaric stood silently, eyes down to the ground, thinking about what had just been said. He was the only one who could save Elena? Not possible, there had to be another way, he wasn't capable. He couldn't be in charge of this, he'd not been able to save so many people, Alaric didn't think he could survive it If he lost Elena too. Yet, if this was really the only way, then would he refuse to do it? No, of course not, he wouldn't leave her stranded, alone and hurt with that monster. He'd die himself before he let that happen.<p>

Damon stared at Alaric's dejected stance and assumed the worst, that he would do what Bonnie had done and abandon them in Elena's time of need. The pure anger that flared through him almost drove him into an immediate frenzy, he had to fight to control himself and growl out Alaric's name, almost demanding an explanation for his silence.

'I'll do it. Whatever it takes,' Alaric took a deep breath and let it out in a long, painful sigh, 'I'll do whatever I have to, to save her.' He looked up and met Damon's eyes which were turning from angry to relieved. Alaric watched as his shoulders slumped from the relief he felt at what he had said, now that he knew Elena stood half a chance of being saved.

'Won't be easy, 'Ric' Katherine commented lazily, she lounged out across the sofa before them watching the emotional display of the men. 'You might have a magical ring that stops Klaus from really killing you, that doesn't mean he won't try, and you have to get her out before you end up semi-dead.' Both men turned their attention to the woman in front of them, evaluating her, watching her. How could someone so physically alike to the girl they were going to save, be so totally different in every other way.

'I'll do whatever it takes.' Alaric almost shouted at her across the room, the pain of the thought of losing her showed across his face in a grimace of his lips and a deepening of the worry lines around his eyes. He turned to Damon, who nodded his appreciation at him, there was no need, no time for thank you's at the moment. 'What do I have to do for this to work?' He asked.

An hour later they had a plan, Damon and Alaric had been steadily creating a offensive attack against Klaus, while Katherine added what little information she knew. At least she was trying to be helpful. The entire thing was a long shot, that Damon and Katherine would take out all of the hybrids around and in the tunnels leading to the cavern Klaus was holding Elena in. Then Alaric would rush Klaus with one of those new, fancy vervain grenades he'd been working on, hopefully it would give him enough time to pass Elena out to a waiting Damon and run before Klaus got him trapped in the cavern as well. It was all the could come up with, not knowing what state they would find Elena in, or what crazy traps Klaus had set up around the cavern to deter them.

They were just about to leave, Alaric was checking the bad full of vampire hunting equipment that he was packing into the back of Damon's car, Damon filling a vile with his blood, incase Alaric needed a quick fix to help himself or Elena during the fight that was sure to happen. Katherine downed the last of the whiskey in her clear crystal tumbler and wandered over to the kitchen where Damon was slowly dripping his blood into the small glass container. Damon glanced up at her as she made her way towards him.

'Tell me you're not planning some kind of usual Katherine double standards cross right now, that you're not sending Alaric in there to be killed.' Damon said to her from across the room, keeping his eyes focused on the dripping blood and listening out for Alaric coming any closer to their conversation.

'For once, Damon, I'm not planning anything other that what we have planned already. You rang me, remember, I came to town to help you. Got the information for you, helped you. I'm just trying to save precious Elena, along with everyone else in this silly little town.' Katherine replied tersely, then stalked out of the room and towards Damon's waiting care outside.

The ride to the woods where the underground caverns lay was tense, Katherine was humming some mindless tune in her place next to Damon in the front, whose hands were clenched so tightly around the wheel that it groaned and almost cracked under the pressure. Alaric was once again taking inventory of all the kit he had with him, muttering plans of attack to himself under his breath. None of them knew how this would go down, none of that could anticipate Klaus's next move, his next victim, his next plan. It was a terrifying situation to be walking, willingly, in to, but they had too, they had to save her. No matter what.

Damon and Katherine were a little ahead of Alaric, taking down any and all hybrids in front of them swiftly, silently. There was a pathway of them for Alaric to follow through the dark tree's towards the caverns, his head filled with images of what Klaus would do to Elena if he knew this attack was coming, how he would react. He shook his head, trying to get those awful images away, and continued to follow the bloody path of heatless hybrids. It didn't take long before Katherine and Damon had all of the outside hybrids down, before they made a slow decent into the waiting, claustrophobic darkness of the tunnels below. Alaric wasn't so far behind now, keeping up, staying close so he could react the tiniest change in plans that might occur. The tunnels weren't as long as he thought they would be, and the approached the end very quickly, there was less hybrids down here than any of them had thought there would be.

Just down the tunnel, Damon heard the horrific crack of a bone splintering and the blood curdling scream that tore out of Elena's throat. It made his fangs protrude over the edge of his lip, veins swelling around his dark eyes. Katherine reacted the same and they moved forward quicker, Alaric keeping on their tail. They reached the end of their path with a slam into an invisible barrier, Alaric hidden partway behind them. Damon peered into the large cavern, his eyes searching for Elena. He found her lying against the wall just to the left of them, but his eyes didn't want to make sense of what they were seeing. Katherine gasped as she saw what had happened, a small hand going to cover her mouth. She seemed genuinely horrified by what he had done, and that is when Damon's mind finally made sense of it.

Her beautiful face was beaten, her eyes puffy and already turning that dark shade of blue, blood ran in streams from her nose, it seeped from a wound in her head into her soft hair, matting it to her head. Damon looked down at the rest of her body, and moaned in horror as he saw what Klaus had done. Each of her legs was broken in more than one place, her shoulder was dislocated, her wrist lay at an odd angle to her arm. The way her body lay, he was sure there would be broken ribs, possible a fractured spine. Klaus hadn't been kidding when he'd said he might not be able to kill her, but he could defiantly hurt her. Damon listened intently, finding her faint heartbeat echoing in her chest and her breath rattling out in painful gasps, had he punctured one of her lungs? He growled unintentionally as he took inventory of what Klaus had done to the girl he loved.

'Ahh, you're finally here. We've been expecting you, haven't we love?' Klaus looked towards Elena as he said that last part, and then laughed darkly. That laugh that seemed to promise that there could be, would be, worse to come. More pain, more suffering. 'Oh, I forgot you can't answer.' He turned to face Damon and Katherine again, ' That's what a rib sticking into your lung can do. But no bother, she doesn't need to answer. I'm just surprised it took you so long to get here.'

Damon and Katherine said nothing, didn't rise to the bait that he set before them, his eyes glinted with anger as his words seemed to wash over them with no effect. He watched them part slightly, saw an arm fly between them and watched the small bomb land right in front of him. Again, he laughed that horrible laugh and kicked it away, over the three waiting outside the cavern and back into the tunnel, where it exploded in a blast of metal and liquid vervain.

'Now now, Alaric, there is no need for violence. In fact, you can come in here and get Elena back right now, if you want to. I've done with her and taken from her what I need for now. And I have the witch anyway, despite her refusal to willingly do what I asked.' Klaus nodded towards Bonnie, unconscious and covered in blood, tied up and left against the opposite wall to Elena. None of the three before him seemed too concerned, too shocked. That was unusual, but then again, she had been willing to let Elena die, maybe now they were willing to be the same with her. 'Come along now, get your doppelganger, before I change my mind.'

Alaric rushed past all three vampires in his way and dropped to his knee's beside Elena's crumpled body, tears threatening to spill over onto his cheeks. She was so close to death, they had almost been too late. He could see now the newly taken bags of her blood stocked against the cavern wall beside her, more to make hybrids with, but that wasn't his concern right now. 'Damon, I can't move her without hurting her more.' He shouted across to him. Klaus chuckled, leaning against the other side of the cavern, beside Bonnie's unconscious figure.

'We'll heal her when she's out, just get her out here.' Damon choked out, his voice threatening to reveal all the sadness, pain and anger he felt at what had happened here. He watched as Alaric gingerly picked Elena up, carrying her limp form in his arms cradled like an infant. Damon could see then that he saw Elena almost like his own child now, that she was like a daughter to him, he finally understood why Alaric had taken this huge risk. Damon held his arms out for her as Alaric passed her through the barrier to him, laying her gently against the ground again and tearing into his wrist, not paying attention to anything but Elena. The blood didn't seem to be healing her as it should, her eyes fluttered open slightly, then closed again against the pain her body was feeling. It was then that Damon heard the struggle going on behind him.

Alaric was still on the other side of the cavern, out of the vampire's reach. Klaus had taken off the finger that his ring had been on, throwing it across to the other side of the cavern. Damon looked up, stricken, into Alaric's face, meeting his eyes. There was desperation there, and pain, loss and sadness, but mostly love and protectiveness.

'Save her.' He whispered, as Klaus drove one of his own silver coated stakes into his heart and let him drop to the floor beside him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Short chapter, but it's sort of just a filler while i figure out where i'm taking this story next. Hope you enjoy it as much as i enjoyed writing it! :)**

**Reviews/constructive criticism always appreciated.**

**Disclaimed : I own nothing TVD related.**

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><p>'Better do what he says then, mate.' Klaus laughed from behind his protective shielding, gathering an unconscious Bonnie in his arms and throwing a bag full of containers carrying Elena's blood over his shoulder. He disappeared into the dark still laughing cruelly.<p>

Tears threatened to spill over the edge of Damon's eyes once again as he watched Alaric twitch on the ground, his arm reaching and passing over the barrier to their side of the tunnel. Blood bubbled in the corner of his mouth, his eyes fluttered wildly as he fought to stay conscious. Katherine grabbed his arm, pulling him through and depositing his twitching body beside hers, glancing over at Damon.

'I can try, okay, but he's already dead Damon, or close enough. Just save Elena, will you.' Katherine practically screamed at him across the tunnel, ripping her wrist open and pressing it to Alaric's bloody mouth. He convulsed against her leg, his face sliding away from her wrist as he shook and tried to take in a breath that would never reach his lungs. With one final, long shudder, Alaric's body fell still beside Katherine.

Damon let out a horrific growl and ripped into his own healing wrist, pressing the blood against Elena's bruised mouth and watching as in the remnants of her conscious she remembered how to swallow. He sighed, relieved it was getting into her, relieved that soon she would be healed and back to her usually healthy self. Well, physically that is, god knows what this would do to her mentally. Damon watched as her throated moved to swallow his blood, but hardly anything seemed to be happening, it seemed wrong. He knew that he could heard the almost inaudible sound of her lung knitting back together, her rib moving slightly out of it's way, her heart beat a tiny bit stronger and some internal bleeding in her kidney slowed, but everything else remained the same. Her broken bones remained unfixed, her face remained broken, bruised and bloody, she remained in her almost unconscious state.

'Katherine… She's not.. Why isn't this working?' Damon choked out, glancing over his shoulder to the woman sat against the tunnel wall, blood soaking her clothes and her hand still wrapped in Alaric's.

Katherine untangled herself from the dead man beside her and crawled over to Damon's side of the tunnel, listening closely to whatever was happening with Elena's body. All of the internal injuries seemed to be healing, granted it was slowly, but nothing external had been fixed.

'Let me try.' Katherine lowered her still bleeding wrist to Elena's mouth and watched as her throat worked to swallow again, and yet still nothing else changed.

'What the..' She whispered, pulling her wrist away lightly and looking at Damon, 'That's the best we can do for now, just carry her back to the car now that she's recovering from everything life threatening, we can work on the rest back at the boarding house.'

Damon nodded his agreement, looking back at Alaric's body.

' Can you grab…' He nodded towards him and Katherine moved to collect the dead man into her arms. Damon gently, hardly touching, gathered a broken Elena and followed Katherine down the darkly lit tunnels.

Katherine drove Damon's car, Alaric was in the boot and Damon cradled Elena in the back seat. He tried again feeding her his blood, watching carefully that she swallowed every drop, and yet still nothing else healed. Her lung had finished knitting back together and her breathing was stabilizing, but her broken ribs still threatened to rip another hole in it at any minute. Damon winced at every bump, every corner that resulted in Elena having to move at all, she let out painful little gasps every time her body was jostled. She was becoming slightly more conscious, but Damon wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing, with her in this state. It was lucky that they were just pulling into the boarding house when Elena's eyes started to flutter open.

Katherine was out of the car and opening doors before Damon had even gathered Elena closely into his arms again, he lifted her gently and rushed after Katherine towards the house, leaving the running car and Alaric behind for now. He lay her trembling body down on the softest sofa he could find and stroked her hair away from her face, still almost unrecognisable. Her puffy, bruised eyes beginning to stay open longer, her mind was becoming more conscious of the pain she was in. Damon looked up at Katherine, who stood beside him as he kneeled on the floor.

'What do we do?' He growled, quietly, trying not to speed up Elena's awakening.

'If our blood isn't going to heal this, then she's in for a world of pain when she comes around. Do you have anything to knock her out with, drugs or something, just until you find a way to fix this?' She looked over Elena's twisted, contorted body and felt genuine pity, genuine sorrow for what had happened to her. That was new. Damon just nodded and stood quickly, beginning to walk away and towards the drugs cabinet in the kitchen, hopefully he would have some sedative or something around.

He was quick reaching the kitchen, he retched open the drugs cabinet and took a wild glance over everything in there, grabbing the only thing he could find that might knock her out and then reaching for the bottle of whiskey on the kitchen counter beside him. Damon had just turned when he heard a painful groan from the other room, it stopped him in his tracks for a moment, controlling himself, when Katherine called his name. She sounded panicked, strained.

And then the screaming began.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, sorry it's taken so long, i went on holiday over easter and didn't have time to write. **

**Thank you all so, so much for the reviews. It makes me super happy knowing that people enjoy what i have written!**

**This is a bit longer, another twist at the end.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing TVD related.**

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><p>There was someone screaming, the noise broke through into Elena's tired consciousness and dragged her foggy mind through to the present.<p>

'Who the hell is screaming like that?' She thought to herself, her mind not quite catching up. Elena tried to twist up from where she was laying, and then she realised. Her spine was locked in place, vertebras crushed and fractured, the bones in her legs screamed at odd angles, there was numbness in her wrist that made no sense. Her ribs hurt like she's never imagined, and the she felt a warm trickle of blood working its way down the side of her mouth.

She was the one who was screaming.

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><p>'DAMON!' Katherine screamed, wondering where he was when Elena had woken and was screaming like this. Elena looked like she tried to throw herself off the chair, her bones protested, some fractured a little bit more, the screams got louder. Elena's eyes opened wide, it was too late to sedate her now, she was awake and by the look in her eyes she was feeling every single stab and tear of pain currently ripping it's way through her body. Their eyes met, and then Katherine smelt fresh, human blood. She looked around for it, finding it sliding it's way out of the side of Elena's screaming mouth. She opened up her vampire senses and listened closely, past the screaming, to the inner workings of Elena's body. Pressing her down with light touches of her hands, she lowered her ear to her chest, where she heard the bloody, broken gush of another punctured lung. Another internal bleed.<p>

'DAMON! SHE'S GOING TO DIE.' She screamed.

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><p>Damon stood frozen in the door way between the kitchen and the living room, Elena's pained screams spearing him to the floor. The bottle of alcohol slipped from between his hands, shattering, the bottle of pills followed and spilled out against the brown liquid seeping into the carpet. He was frozen, pained by her screams, unable to move. Then Katherine screamed, something about Elena dying, and suddenly he could move again, he could see again, he could help again. He was by her side in a second.<p>

'Where the hell..' Katherine shouted at him, almost starting a massive monologue, until he silenced her with a quick glare. They could hardly hear each other anyway, over the loudening screams coming from a broken, bloody, bruised Elena lying before them. Her entire body shook with the pain, the fingers that weren't broken twitched, her body jerked as if trying to pull her away from the pain. If only it were that easy.

'What happened?' Damon asked loudly, dropping to his knee's beside Elena and stroking lightly over the unbroken parts of her body, although it seemed to have no effect. The screams continued.

'She became conscious while you were getting the pills, I could see it in her eyes. It looked like her body tried to throw itself up from where she's laying. Her lung is torn, there's more internal bleeding. Damon, I don't know if we can..'

'SHUT UP,' he roared at her, 'We can save her, I can save her, all we need to do is keep the more important parts stable and then work from there.' He said, a little more calmly, not looking at Katherine. He ripped painfully into his wrist, watching the blood begin to flow and the lowered his hand to Elena's mouth, Katherine laid her hands lightly on Elena's shoulders and tried to keep her a little more still while Damon made another attempt to heal her.

It was about 3 pints of Damon's blood, and one of Katherine's, later that Elena's lung began to slowly heal and the internal bleeding stopped. It was slow, her life was in danger and they couldn't save her. Her screams had slowed now, she shook, twitched and whimpered from where she lay, her head slightly elevated on Damon's leg. He stroked her hair and tried to hold her as still as possible. All the bones were still broken, nothing other than the life threatening things were healing at all.

'Damon, you can't just keep her here like this. You need to take her to the hospital, call her brother. You have to do something about Alaric as well.' Katherine whispered from where she sat, glass of whiskey in hand, across the room.

'I can't take her to a hospital, how exactly will I explain it when she doesn't heal anything at all. If we can't heal her, how will they. Jeremy doesn't need to know yet, and I can't do anything about Ric, not yet. Elena would kill me when she was fixed up if I didn't wait until she was lucid to tell her.' He whispered back, his eyes downcast, his fingers trailing lightly over her hair, avoiding the spot where blood was matted to her scalp.

'She'll never be lucid again, like this. She's in pain, Damon. You have to do something.'

'I know.'

'Then do it.'

Damon sighed, he lifted Elena's head a little and slipped out from underneath her, laying her back down lightly. Even that slight movement brought a pained scream to her lips. Damon dropped to his knee's beside her, his hands hovering over her, not knowing where to touch.

'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.' He whispered, and the stood again. He dialled Caroline's number, she didn't answer. He considered for a moment and the rang Matt. He answered on the first ring.

'Damon.. What's up?' Matt asked, confused at the caller and the late hour.

'Is Caroline with you?' Damon replied, getting straight to the point.

'Yeah, why, has something happened?'

'Put her on, now.' Damon demanded, Matt didn't argue. Damon heard sheets ruffling as Matt moved around, passing the phone to Caroline.

' Damon?' She asked, her voice husky with sleep.

'Caroline. Bring Matt, come to the boarding house. Actually, go to the hospital, get some sedatives, strong painkillers, monitors if you can. We need to set up a mini hospital here, you're the only one who can go right now. I'd do it myself but I'm needed here.' He left no room for arguing, no negotiation.

'A mini hospital..? Why, Damon, what's happened?' Caroline asked, suddenly more awake and alert.

'Just, you two go and get the stuff, as much of it as you can, and get here quickly. It's Elena. I'll explain when you get here.' With that, he hung up. Damon knew that both Caroline and Matt would do it, if it concerned Elena.

'Very clever, a mini hospital here.' Katherine murmured from across the room again, ' I'm assuming you'll need me out of the way for a while. Don't give me that look, I'm not running, I'll be back. If you're going to be playing nurse here, you'll need me to bring you back some blood.' She stood, Damon nodded a thanks at her, and she took off. Leaving him alone with the love of his life, bleeding and broken. And apparently, fully conscious again.

'Damon..' She whispered, it came out as quiet as a breath, the bruises covering her throat making it difficult for her to talk. Her fingers twitched, almost reaching out towards him, but her broken hand wouldn't let her. The pain that ripped through her arm when she moved brought another screaming ripping through her. She felt Damon's cool fingers lightly running across her face, wiping away the tears that had escaped with the scream, he whispered and murmured comforting things to her and the immediate pain settled again and she was left with the constant stabbing and tearing of everything else that hurt. At least she had enough control to stop herself from constantly screaming now.

'Wha…' Elena wheezed a breath in as another pain flew through her body, squeezing her eyes shut painfully until it passed.

'Shhhh,' Damon whispered, his fingers still brushing the most un-bruised parts of her face, ' Don't try and talk. You're hurt Elena. Real hurt, and I don't know what to do. But we're trying, Okay? Do you understand? I have done anything and everything else that I can think of, something is stopping you from healing. We're going to set up a kind of hospital room here for you. Okay? I'm so sorry, love. I'm so, so sorry.' Damon's eyes closed, tears spilling over his own cheeks. He lowered his head down beside hers, pressing his forehead slightly against the side of her. Her entire body still trembled. Her fingers still twitched, but it was like some kind of super tension released in her as her came closer, she began to try and relax against his hand and his head a little, even though the pain was still almost everything she could think about.

'Okay..' She managed to choke out. Elena could hear Damon's quiet sobs, her own tears from the pain still streaming down her face. The pain was outstanding, too much to bear, just not screaming was taking every ounce of strength she had left. She heard the front door open, and then click closed again, assuming it was whoever was bringing the stuff for the room Damon had mentioned. Damon must have thought so too, his head lay still down next to hers, his tears still ran in cold lines down his cheeks. Until he heard a heartbeat, and just one set of shoes. If it was Caroline and Matt, sure there would be a heart beating, but two of them would be walking in. He stood suddenly, standing defensively just in front of where Elena lay. He heard her heart beat rise, the tension of the sudden situation elevating the already dangerously high pulse.

The foot steps came closer, the heart beat sounded like it was somehow coming alive, getting stronger as it came closer. The closed door from the hall to the living room swung open. Damon gasped, almost a coughing, choked sound.

'Damon, what the hell? Why was I locked in your..' There was another gasp, as the scene before him registered, the broken bloody Elena, the defensive but obviously shocked Damon. Tears on both of their faces. He stopped, suddenly, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find the words to say and failing.

'What the hell?' Damon whispered.

But he didn't answer, Alaric just stood, frozen in confusion.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry, i know i've been gone a while! I also know that the ending of that last chapter was crappy, but i needed to make it happen because i couldn't let Alaric just.. die.**

**Another suprise appearence at the end of this one, but the story is finally going somewhere now. Got it all figured out. So i hope you enjoy this one more than the last.**

**All reviews appreciated.**

**Diclaimer : As always, i own nothing TVD related in this story.**

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><p>Damon just stared. He didn't move, not an inch. Instead he just stood, still as only a vampire could, and watched as Alaric's mouth opened and closed in an attempt to put into words how he was feeling about the scene in front of him. How could he not remember? No, scratch that, how was he even alive? It felt like everything was spiralling out of control, falling apart. Nothing at all was making sense right now.<p>

Elena let out a small whimper of pain and that alone dragged Damon out of his own mind. He pulled his eyes from Alaric and dropped once again to his knee's beside that broken, fragile girl. Alaric crossed the room towards them and dropped to his knee's beside Damon, gasping as he took in the full extent of Elena's injuries.

'Damon, what the hell happened? Why haven't you healed her?' Choked out Alaric, tears forming in his eyes and he watched Elena whimper and try not to squirm with the pain.

'Klaus, Bonnie, Elena. How can you not remember this Ric? You saved her, you died for her. In fact, you should still be dead, he cut your ring finger off. How the hell..? And I've tried, both Katherine and I have tried. All the blood cured was her most life threatening injuries. Nothing else is healing.' Confusion swirled through Damon's brain once again as to why it wouldn't work. Why, when his blood had healed thousands before, had healed Elena before, wasn't it working now when he most needed it?

'Katherine..' Alaric looked shocked, but then shook it off, in the entire time Damon had spoken, that had been the least important thing to notice, 'Yeah, okay not important. So I died, came back. We can deal with it later. Damon, we need to get her to the hospital!'

'Can't, sorry Ric, but if we can't heal her, how are we meant to explain it when she never heals in a hospital? We're going to set up a little one here for now, figure it out.' The door opened then, he heard Caroline's lithe vampire steps and Matt's heavier, human stomps echoing through the house and they carried the equipment in.

'Damon, where do you want this stuff?' Matt's voice echoed through the house.

'My room for now, second floor, fourth door on the left.' Damon replied without even lifting his head. He stroked soothing hands across the lesser damaged parts of Elena's face. Soothing. It took five minutes for them to set up the equipment in Damon's room, but it felt like a lifetime. Caroline and Matt came back down the stairs, heading towards them. They stopped In the same doorway Alaric had entered through only minutes ago, and gasped.

'Damon, what the hell?' Caroline practically screamed, dashing over towards them with Matt hot on her heels. Damon glanced a look at Alaric, conveying to him with his eyes to explain to the others what he had just explained to him, and then stood. Gently, he gathered Elena up from where she lay, trying not to move her around to much. Yet still, every movement released a new, pained cry from her. New tears spilled over and made cleaner tracks down along her blood stained cheeks.

Elena felt the soft down of Damon's bed beneath her body, but it didn't sooth her, it didn't take the pain away. It burned through her, every movement felt like she was being torn to pieces. Damon was being careful, she could feel the extreme control he was using, trying not to move her, but it wasn't enough. Nothing would be enough. It just _hurt_. She felt cool, sticking pads being laid over her body until a machine registered them and began beeping, her clothes were being removed with tears of Damon's hand, but she didn't care. She knew he'd cover her over after. He wasn't moving her much, but the pain was still excruciating. A sharp scratch in the vein in the less broken arm, a small push, and she felt liquid seeping into her veins. _Oh, that feels strange. _She thought to herself, she wanted to say it out-loud, but every time she opened her mouth another whimper or cry escaped. Then the liquid changed into something different, it was still cold, but it didn't feel strange anymore. It was soothing, the pain was starting to dim a little, and Elena began to drift. _Oh, this feels strange too. _She once again thought to herself, before a drug induced darkness came over her.

The darkness faded, but she didn't want it too. It was nice there, it didn't hurt so much. Elena came round to the sound of hushed voices arguing a little away from her, it sounded like Damon and.. Alaric, maybe. She opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the dim lighting in the room, they were still as puffy and sore as they had been when the drugs had taken hold of her. This wasn't the first time she'd come round, but they just kept filling up the IV drip up again with what she thought was morphine, and she went back to sleep.

'Damon..' She manage to choke out, before tearing, searing pains ripped their way up her bruised, damaged throat and all she could do was whimper. She felt Damon's cool hand against her cheek and opened her eyes again, although she couldn't remember closing them. He looked tired, and haunted, and sad. Elena let her eyes roam around the room, not daring to try and move any other part of her body. Jeremy sat watching vigilantly from a chair beside the bed, Damon and Alaric hovered over her, Matt was asleep on what looked like a makeshift cot in the side of the room. She turned her eyes back to Damon and Alaric, and tried again to speak.

'Arguing..' Elena gasped as the pain tore through her again, but soldiered on, 'Why?'

Damon shot an angry look at Alaric and then went back to staring sadly at Elena, he didn't speak.

'I want to give you my blood, just a transfusion, see if it works. If I can come back from the dead without my ring..' Elena looked confused at that, of course she didn't remember that happening. 'Yeah, we'll explain later ok? What I was saying is that if I could do that then maybe it's something in my blood. Maybe it could help you out.' Alaric shot a returning angry glance at Damon, who took no notice.

'And I'm just saying, Ric, that you're not compatible with her. Your blood will kill her before it saves her. Not risking it.' Damon replied, keeping his eyes constantly on Elena.

'Mix it with mine, we have the same blood type. Hoping for the best is better than having no hope at all, Damon.' Jeremy spoke quietly, tiredly, from his seat beside her bed. Her heart ached for him, poor Jeremy, willing to do anything to save her. As usual, just like everyone else. When she was better, if she was better, she'd have to find some way to repay them all.

Damon looked at Jeremy, considering it, and then gave one curt nod of his head.

'Caroline,' He called out lightly, 'Bring up two sets of blood donation packs, the ones you brought over from the hospital. We're taking some from Ric and Jeremy.'

Elena heard some kind of reply from downstairs, noises like someone opening cupboards and taking things from shelves, and then Caroline was there, taking instructions from Damon and slipping needles into their arms. Damon stayed where he was, stroking small, soothing lines across her face.

'Do you want more pain relief? You don't need to be awake, we can help you without you having to feel it.' Damon whispered to her, his own eyes clouding with tears. Elena just shook her head, she was done with hiding from this. What pain relief she had going into her now was enough, she could last, and if this didn't work, she couldn't spend god knows how long waiting in the darkness until they find a way to help her. Damon just closed his eyes for a while and sighed sadly, looking back down at her again with those haunted, tired eyes.

Elena must have fallen into some kind of sleep, because the next thing she knew, Damon's hands weren't on her face anymore, but where probing her hand. He slipped in another needle, somehow finding another vein, and pushed in an Iv dripping with thick, red liquid. The blood started to seep into her arm, working it's way through her body. _At least it's not cold this time._ Elena thought to herself as she watched that thick, dark liquid travelling through the tube and finding its way into her body. Damon watched it too, he looked hungry, but he wasn't leaving her side. Not for a second, not even when Caroline went herself to get some blood. Instead, she brought him up one of his famous crystal tumblers filled with some the same colour of that winding its way around Elena's veins.

When an entire 24 hours passed and nothing had changed, Damon let out a terrifying growl. Frustration, anger, pain at her pain. It all escaped him as once again he changed the empty blood bag for a full one as Elena watched him with pain clouding her eyes, contorting her perfect features. Not even her bruises were going down, if anything, it was all getting worse. There was only him in the room now, he'd sent every out, away, promising to call if anything changed, for better or worse. Damon was distracted, tired as he pulled out the empty blood bag, they'd taken enough from both Jeremy and Alaric to give them 9 in total, this was the last one, and just as he slipped it into position, he heard foot steps outside of the door. Damon sighed.

'I thought I told you all to go home.' He murmured to whoever it was behind him, hoping they wouldn't argue with him and just leave. He slipped the bag up onto the pole beside Elena's bed and collapsed into the chair beside it, closing his eyes for a moment.

'That blood isn't going to work.' The voice came from closer behind him, but it was no one he expected, or he thought to himself guiltily, he had even thought about since he got Elena out of that cave. Damon jerked up out of the chair, putting himself between Elena and this new-comer.

'It won't work, Damon. She's spelled.'

'What the hell?' Damon growled. 'Spelled? What on earth could do this? And how are you even here?' He was angry at the person in front of him, but also kind of relieved. Finally, maybe some answers.

'I did this, he made me Damon. I couldn't help it. Once I did, he let me go with a message for you. That nothing but one thing will work to help her.'

Damon sped, at vampire speed, across the room, pinning her to the wall behind them near the door.

'At what is that thing?' Damon growled, their faces close together.

'Only one vampires blood can save her Damon. And it won't be easy to get. Damon, she'll stay like this forever if you can't get it.'

Damon backed off a little, staring angrily at this bearer of bad news, arms crossed tightly across his chest. Waiting for her to continue.

'Damon… Only Stefan's blood can save her.' Whispered Bonnie, unharmed, perfectly fine Bonnie. Eyes down, destroying the last hope Damon had of saving the girl he loved.


	14. Chapter 14

**Bonjour dearests! We're finally getting there with this story, i know, it's taken me a while. I'm glad you've bore with me. I've just finished watching 3x19 again and that kiss is possibly the hottest thing ever, so please forgive me if anything i write is pale in comparison.**

**Along side this, i've also started writing a fanfiction about the Morganville Vampires which is getting updated fairly quickly at the moment. So i'd appreciate it if you could check it out! **

**As always, reviews are a pleasant present to recieve from you lovely people!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing TVD related. **

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><p>'You did what?' Damon was very close to Bonnie now, his hands clenched into tight fists by the side of his body, shaking with anger.<p>

'He MADE me do it Damon. He threatened to kill me! He used those herbs, the ones that stop most of a witches powers working for a while. I couldn't stop him.' Bonnie was practically begging him to understand, but Damon was so angry. So angry, and so scared of what he could see was bubbling under Bonnie's surface, there was something else she hadn't told him.

'What else Bonnie? What is it that you're hiding from me? Because if I find out later you didn't tell me something vitally important, it won't just be Klaus you have to be afraid of.' Damon glowered down at her, Bonnie stared up defiantly but with her powers still shorted out, there was nothing much she could do.

'It's not just a case of drinking some of Stefan's blood.. Damon, you have to drain him. The last line he added was in Latin, but it pretty much translated into 'Thy blood of the vampire drained will be that of Stefan Salvatore, who in death will save the life of the doppelganger.'

Damon growled, a vicious animal growl and turned away from Bonnie so he wouldn't be anymore tempted to hurt her. But that turned him facing Elena, covered in bruises, breaks, wires, painkillers and blood dripping into her through long clear IV drips. He would do anything to save her, get her better, stop her pain, but to kill Stefan? His own brother. He shook his head, hardly even trying to get his head around the problem. Stefan, who had become the ripper again to save him, Stefan, his brother. Or Elena, the girl he loved, the girl they had both promised their lives to protect.

'Is there any way to reverse the spell?' Damon choked out through clenched teeth.

'I don't think there's a reversal spell for this. I'm sorry.'

'YOU'RE SORRY?' Damon roared, turning back to face her, 'Sorry for what exactly Bonnie? That you got out of there unharmed, that you get to carry on living your little witchy life with no interference. None of this has any effect on you, does it. It's not the love of YOUR life hanging in the balance, or the life of YOUR brother!' Bonnie looked like she was about to cry, but Damon didn't care. He was _pissed._

'Da..mon. Please.' He heard Elena's weak voice whispered across the room to him, pulling him away from his rage and to her bedside.

'What is it? Do you need more painkillers?' His hands fluttered uselessly, he'd never felt more inadequate. Elena shook her head at him and looked across the room to Bonnie. Damon knew that look, Elena was telling him to lay off. He glowered in the direction of Bonnie again, treacherous little witch! Then turned back to Elena and let his face soften a little, she was watching them both with a look of protective love. It was almost painful. He couldn't lose her, he wouldn't. Stefan wouldn't want her to suffer like this either, Damon thought, I have to find him. Taking a deep breath, he pulled his eyes away from Elena and turned back towards Bonnie.

'Do you know if Stefan is still under compulsion?' Damon asked quietly.

'From what I saw, the last time I saw him, yeah, but I know where they were staying. I could take you there. And it looks like there is only Klaus out of the originals left here too. Everyone else is gone.' Bonnie relied timidly, he was a lot more terrifying now that she didn't have the powers to protect herself against him. Damon sighed an inner sigh of relief at the last part of Bonnie's reply, it even encouraged him to forgive her a little bit.

'Okay, we need to wait until your powers are back up. We'll leave at nightfall, about 4 hours. Call the others, everyone, get them back here.' When Bonnie hesitated, he added sternly, 'Now, Bonnie.' Bonnie pulled out her phone and turned to leave the room, Damon turned again to look down at Elena, who gazed up at him with love, as always, even when she was suffering so much.

It took two hours, but finally everyone was back at the boarding house, back in Elena's makeshift hospital room and a plan was beginning to come together. Bonnie's powers were slowly coming back online, she could keep Klaus down for a while, Jeremy was staying here to watch Elena. Everyone else was prepared to fight if Bonnie failed. Damon was in charge of getting Stefan to see sense, but he felt a surprisingly deep sadness at what he was going to have to convince Stefan of. He didn't want to lose either of them, it hurt to think about, but he had too. And if one of them had to go, then even Stefan would agree that it had to be himself.

As they were leaving, everyone somehow seemed to decide that they had to say goodbye to Elena and Jeremy, it looked almost final, like they thought they might not be coming back. Even Damon thought it was a little heart wrenching watching them. Then his heart broke as he walked over to Elena to say his own goodbye and saw the horrible tears running down her face. He could see it in her eyes how angry she was at herself for not being able to help. Damon cupped her face very, very lightly and leaned down to kiss her softly.

'I love you, so much.' He whispered into her mouth, and then they left.


	15. Chapter 15

**This chapter is a little longer and i really hope you like it. I've been out of writing for a while because of a broken laptop, so i had to get around to writing this on the awful family computer. I actually like the way this chapter went, even if it does start a little slow, so i hope you guys do to.**

**I enjoy all your reviews and i'd like to know what you think of this one!**

**I HAVE NOT SEEN THE FINALE YET. DO NOT POST SPOILERS IN ANY REVIEWS. I REPEAT, DO NOT POST SPOILERS.**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing TVD related, sadly :(**

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><p>Damon didn't want to leave Elena unprotected with just Jeremy, especially so injured, but he had no other choice. They had to do this. They had to find Stefan, convince him. Maybe kill Klaus in the process. Oh, yeah, that would be a good perk of this trip. All five of them; Damon, Alaric, Matt, Caroline and Bonnie had squashed into Alaric's car and drove towards the last place Bonnie had said she'd seen Stefan. The Original's mansion.<p>

Alaric parked half a block away and shut off the car, glancing around everyone inside. Damon's face was set in a hard mask, ready to fight, Bonnie and Matt looked fairly terrified and Caroline, for once in her life was quiet. Turning his attention back to Damon, who nodded his head slightly towards Alaric, they all began to climb out of the car. Damon, Alaric and Caroline held painfully sharp wooden stakes in their hands, Matt had Alaric's cross bow. Bonnie had a small silver knife and a vervain grenade tucked away in her pockets, her magic was her biggest offensive. They had this entire thing planned out, and quietly, efficiently, they split up into pre-organised groups of human/vampire pairs while Bonnie walked towards the front door of the giant house, the only one inconspicuous enough to be able to get in that way.

Damon had Matt with his crossbow, Caroline and Alaric were heading towards the other side of the house. It was obvious to him when Bonnie began to use her magic, just after he'd heard a faint knocking from the house, faint chills ran up his neck as he felt Bonnie's power level increase. Creepy little witch. Not long after, screaming began, it sounded quiet like Klaus's deep English voice echoing in pain throughout the night as Bonnie burst every blood vessel in his head over and over again. It should keep him down a while, Damon thought to himself, reminiscing hatefully on the few times Bonnie had done it to him.

'NOW!' Bonnie's voice echoed through the darkness, shaking with the concentration the magic was taking. This was their signal, and simultaneously he heard glass breaking on both sides of the house as Matt broke in through the patio doors on their side and Caroline did the same on the other. Stefan was in this house somewhere, Damon could smell his familiar scent all over the place. Slowly, they advanced throughout the house towards the giant staircase they had all gathered under during Klaus's families welcome party. Alaric and Caroline appeared soon after from around the darkened corner of what Damon remembered to be the dining room. It had been timed perfectly, just as they had planned.

Screaming continued on behind them as Bonnie destroyed Klaus's brain repeatedly, and Damon turned to sneer at the sight. Instead, he met the eyes of a desperate Bonnie with blood dripping quickly from her nose.

'Quickly.' She choked out, and then resumed concentration on her task. Damon turned, nodded once again to the others and they began their accent up the stairs to find his brother.

Apparently, Stefan had awoken to the sound of Klaus's horrid screaming, which Damon was thinking he'd be glad to stop when he staked him, but apparently he hadn't let his senses roam in search of other life in the house. Running out of one of the many darkened bedrooms, Stefan ran directly into the chest of a surprised Alaric.

'DAMON!' Alaric bellowed across the hallway and turned just in time to catch Stefan's arm tightly as he was readying to throw a punch. Damon was beside him in a second, pinning Stefan's other arm to his side and helping Alaric push him back against the door frame of the bedroom. Matt stood between them, the crossbow loaded with a wooden arrow pointing at the centre of Stefan's chest. Caroline stood off towards the side, ready to act if Stefan decided to run. Stefan just growled.

'Brother!' Damon growled at him, 'Stop. Pay attention, this has to do with ELENA!' He shouted her name at him as he began to force his way out of their grip, her name stunned him, sent his face into a rippling show of painful emotions.

'Oh, you remember her I see?' Alaric asked dryly, earning himself another horrid growl from Stefan.

'Whatever it is. I don't care. She no longer matters to me, I believe I am right in assuming she is your issue now, brother?' Stefan sneered at him, twisting to word brother to sound dirty and bitter.

'She will die, without your blood.' Caroline commented from the side, shocked at Stefan's reaction to them.

'I know.' Stefan commented back, he looked emotionless now, hiding behind a blank mask. Damon punched him, hard, right in the side of the jaw. Stefan's head snapped back, hard, and in all the action they hadn't realised that the screaming had stopped.

'Of course he knows, he was here when she did the spell mate.' Klaus look tired, but he was alive and standing. Bonnie was slumped unconscious against the wall behind him, blood running in a steady stream from her nose. Klaus looked them all over and give a little laugh, like what he saw was at all amusing. Stefan looked up at the sound of that laugh and met Klaus's eyes.

'He doesn't love her anymore..' Klaus said in a bright English accent.

'I don't love her anymore.' Stefan replied quietly, his eyes glued to Klaus's.

'He doesn't care if she lives or dies.'

'I don't care if she lives or die.'

'He will never give up anything for-' Klaus broke off in a horrid choke, which shocked them all. His eye contact broke with Stefan who shook himself even though he was still trapped between Damon, Alaric and Matt's crossbow. They all watched as Klaus fell to his knee's in front of them his skin becoming like leather, a small metal dagger thrust out through his heart. Obviously, Bonnie's dagger had been one of the original ones, for a moment Damon wondered when she had gotten that. The he was confused, because Bonnie was falling again behind Klaus, all strength drained from her.

'Caroline, take her to the car. Fix her somehow.' Caroline obeyed, she was too shocked to do anything else. Everyone else's attention was back on Stefan, who was smirking. It didn't look good.

'I will not give you what you want. I will not die for her.' He sounded wrong, different. He sounded like he had no compassion left in him at all.

'Stefan..' Damon began, but was interrupted by his brother.

'No.'

'God-DAMMIT.' Roared Damon, pushing Alaric and Matt out of the way and slamming Stefan harder against the wall behind him. 'This is Elena we are talking about. We give our lives for her. Always. Do you understand me?' Damon was terrifying, power rolled off him in waves, but still Stefan just smiled.

'No.' Damon's face hardened, but he looked like his heart was breaking, his thoughts running to Elena and the pain she was in. And then he became determined again. He'd thought of something.

'Do you remember what Klaus said to you, in the school, when he forced you to turn your emotions off?' Stefan's smile slipped a little, but he nodded. 'That your love for this one girl was the only thing stronger than your desire for human blood. I know that's still inside of you Stefan.' Damon was gathering all the power he had inside of him, everything that he could gather behind the next words he would say.

'Stefan, this will hurt, I'm sorry.' He paused, Stefan looked back at him bewildered, sensing the power building up inside of his brother. Damon had thought he was going to have to scream these words had Stefan, but the power inside him told him differently, that wouldn't be needed.

'Turn them on, Stefan. Turn the emotions back on and feel.' The power flooded out into Stefan with that one last word. Damon had said everything very softly, letting the last hundred or so years of care for his brother wash into him. Damon, Matt and Alaric stood back and watched as a bright light came on behind Stefan's eyes and he crumbled to the ground before them.

'Oh god,' Stefan whispered, 'Oh, my god.'


	16. Chapter 16

**Ahh, we're drawing closer and closer to the end of this fanfiction now. It feels like i'm losing a loved one :') I think after this there might be one or two more chapters depending on how it goes..**

**Well, i hope you like this chapter. I'd love to know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing TVD related that this mentioned in this story.**

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><p>Matt backed away and lowered the cross bow as Stefan fell to his knees with horrified tears running down his cheeks. Damon and Alaric stood looking both sympathetic and unyielding. They might have gotten Stefan to start feeling again, but there was still the little problem of convincing him to give up all his vampire blood and die in order to save Elena.<p>

'Oh god. What have I done?' Stefan whispered, raising his head from his hands and turning tortured eyes to Damon. Stefan suddenly looked tired, and about a thousand years older than he really was. Damon crouched down beside his brother and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

'It doesn't matter now, brother. All can be fixed. But.. Do you remember what is going on? Elena.. She's…' Damon couldn't choke out to Stefan the awful state Elena was in back at the boarding house, wired up to machines and drips and writhing in pains with broken bones and deep purple bruises. Matt turned away from them as tears threatened to spill from his eyes as he remembered the state Elena was in, and as he witness the scene going on in front of him. Stefan had been his friend once, he'd thought he'd never get him back, and now if Stefan agrees to this, he never will. Alaric stood, face still slightly sympathetic but waiting patiently for Stefan to choke back this next set of sobs and answer Damon's half-question.

'I remember,' Stefan whispered, his voice thick with emotion, 'I'll do it. I'll do anything. Oh god. I'm so sorry.' Damon patted his shoulder once more and straightened up, extending a hand out to his brother to pull him up.

Thirty minutes after entering the house, Klaus was down, Stefan was fixed and Elena could be cured. Almost a complete victory for once. If you didn't think about how soon they would be losing Stefan again. Stefan continued to cry on the walk back to the car, but managed to pull it together on the way back as he sat beside Caroline who had her arms around a still unconscious Bonnie. He knew what he had to do, and he would do it. To die for Elena would be possibly the best way he could repay them for what he had done.

It took them all of 20 minutes to drive back to the boarding house, Caroline whisked off with Bonnie in her arms to settle her in one of the many rooms while she recovered. Alaric, looking as tired as ever, went in to check on Jeremy and Elena. They were both asleep, Elena knocked out with the strength of the drugs Damon had stolen for her, Jeremy with the exhaustion of the past few days catching up with him. Jeremy, however, woke up as soon as Alaric walked through the door, suddenly defensive until he realised who it was. Silently, he asked if all had gone to plan, Alaric just nodded and moved to sit down on the soft chair next to him.

Downstairs, Damon and Stefan were lingering just inside of the doorway, neither of them wanting to talk about what was about to happen.

'Stefan..' Damon began, but couldn't find the words to continue.

'Don't. I don't deserve your sympathy. This is the least of what I deserve. You should torture my blood out of me, after everything I've done.' Stefan sounded tired and self-hatred laced his voice. Damon ducked his head for a moment to gather up his control.

'Yes. I should, but I won't. We'll make this as easy as possible, drain it as easily as possible… Stefan.. I didn't want it to be this way.' Stefan just nodded at him. Damon turned and began the accent up the two flights of stairs towards his room, towards Elena, with Stefan right behind him. Stefan gasped as they walked into the room, seeing for the first time the extent of the damage Klaus has inflicted on Elena. Precious, beautiful Elena who was now bent out of shape, blood still matted in her hair, bruises developing horribly over most of her peachy skin. Damon was at her side in seconds, stroking what appeared to be the only undamaged area on her face. He looked at her with such love and such concern that Stefan's heart twisted like it was tearing. But then he pulled it together, that was his own fault, he forced them together.

'How long has she been out?' Damon asked, looking up at Jeremy who sat on the opposite side of the bed.

'About an hour, I think. Asked for more drugs the moment you guys left the house.'

'She'll come round soon, maybe we can start.. You could say goodbye when she wakes up? If you wanted to, that is.' Damon sounded like his entire life was falling apart, his brother dying, the love of his life in unbelievable pain. He sounded tired and sad and lonely. Stefan just nodded and then moved to sit down in the chair just beside the door. Caroline came in about five minutes later, carrying a tiny little needle, a IV port and an uncountable number of empty and waiting to be filled blood bags. She looked around and her face dropped as she realised that this was really happening. Stefan was about to die, and she'd have to be the one to put the needle in and draw his life away from him. Tears began falling down her face.

'I'll do it.' Damon said quietly from across the room, not even looking up from Elena's face. Caroline let out a sigh of relief, set the items down on the table beside Stefan and then leaned down to give him a tight hug. He tensed for just a moment before returning it and smiling a tight smile up at her once she'd pulled away. Damon was over beside him just a moment later, holding the needle and IV port in his hands and kneeling down beside him. As efficiently as possible, he had the arm in place and the needle about to slide it, he looked up at Stefan who was watching him detachedly.

'I'm so sorry, brother.' The needle slipped in. Damon was quick, the blood was flowing slowly into the first empty blood bag that was strapped to the chair leg. Stefan just shut his eyes and waited.

As they changed the fourth full blood bag for a fifth empty one, Elena woke up. A tiny little gasp of pain and some trembling let everyone know when she'd finally become conscious enough to feel pain again. Tears rolled slowly from the corner of one eye and she tried to get some more control over herself, Damon was there in a second soothing her. Jeremy had his hand hovering lightly over her arm. Everyone else was just waiting. Stefan had began to feel a little woozy but he opened his eyes as soon as he knew she was awake.

'Damon?…Stefan?' Elena choked out, hardly seeming to be able to form a sentence.

'Shhh, love, we got him. He's here. He's going to help you.' Damon looked down at her and gauged her reaction to this. More trembling began throughout her body, more tears formed in her eyes and spilled heavily onto her face, painful sobs tried to pull their way from her broken chest and escape from her swollen mouth. Stefan pulled the filling blood bag from the leg of the chair and stood slowly, Caroline moved to help him as he stumbled his was towards Elena's bed. As soon as he reached her line of sight, she tried to raise her arm to reach out to him, but instead ended up almost screaming in pain as her dislocated shoulder and broken wrist pulled at the movement.

'Don't move. Please, god it's okay. You'll be fixed soon, I promise.' Stefan had reached her and was leaning down against the part of the bed she wasn't lying on. Elena looked up at him with eyes that looked like her heart was breaking.

'You…you'll die.' Elena managed to whisper out past the tears and the sobs and the bruises.

'And you'll live. It's the least I can do.' Stefan was getting woozy again now, the fifth bag almost full of his blood. He was close to being drained now.

'No.' Elena choked out. Sobs threatening again. Stefan used up what was left of his energy to lift his hand and stroke the same place Damon had been earlier. He drew fingers along that undamaged piece of skin lightly.

'It's okay, Elena. I promise you it will all be okay..' He paused, drew in a deep breath and looked back down to stare in her eyes.

'I always loved you,' Stefan whispered, 'Goodbye.' Slowly he turned, took a step away from the bed and fell heavily to his knees.

Elena screamed like she didn't care if she was hurting, until the pain caught up to her and then she began to sob as hard as she ever had before. Damon had caught Stefan before he'd fully collapsed onto the floor and now held him in his lap as Stefan fought to stay awake. His eyes fluttered open and closed as quickly as butterfly wings until finally they closed properly. The blood dripping into this final, full fifth blood bag was slowing into a stop. The others; Matt, Jeremy, Alaric, Caroline and even Bonnie were stood around the room watching as Stefan stopped moving, the blood stopped flowing. Everyone had tears in their eyes as Stefan began to stiffen and Damon laid him down onto the floor, pulling the needle from his arm and moving the new full blood bag away from them.

'Goodbye, brother.' He whispered, and then Stefan was gone.


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm feeling a little sad about this right now, because we've finally reached the end of this fanfiction. I think we needed a happy ending after all of that horridness, so here you have it. **

**I'm thinking i might do a fanfiction based on life after this, less about the conflict, more about where Elena and Damon go from here. Let me know what you think?**

**Also, let me know what you think of this final chapter, i'd really appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer: Even after all this time, i still own nothing realted to TVD that is mentioned in this story.**

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><p>It had been two weeks, three days and 4 hours since Elena had been fully healed of any and all physical pains that she had. It had taken three days to get all of Stefan's blood into her, and even then the recovery had been slow. It had been almost a week since Stefan had died until Elena could walk again, until Elena could function enough to properly grieve and hurt over what she had lost. The others had buried Stefan while Elena remained unconscious, going through the second of Stefan's blood bags, knocked out with strong drugs as the worst of the pain began to recede. They hadn't thought she'd have been able to deal with seeing it. Elena thought they were right, but that didn't stop her escaping to the place they had buried her the moment she could get away from the others. Damon had found her there after an hour of frantic searching. She was on her knee's, freezing in just one of Damon's shirts and a pair of shorts, tears streaming down her face. He'd carried her home, and she'd hardly said a word to him since.<p>

It wasn't that she blamed him for it, quite the opposite really, she blamed herself. Elena didn't want to risk him getting angry directly at her, didn't want to risk encouraging him to leave her here all alone because of what she had done. It was her fault Stefan had died, she knew that, she blamed herself, she expected the others did too. Damon, however, did not take her silence this way. He thought she no longer wanted him. Even though she still slept beside him in his bed at night, they hardly touched, she never reached out to him. He was as lonely as he would be if she was a million miles away. After two weeks, three days and 4 days of this though, he could no longer take it anymore, lying next to her, knowing she was awake but not talking.

'Elena?' He whispered to her back, reaching out to touch her shoulder. Elena recoiled slightly at the touch and he pulled his hand away, she turned and sat up beside him silently, waiting for him to continue. Damon let out a long breath and then sat up as well, the duvet pooling in his lap, slowly he turned to look at her.

'Elena.. After what happened.. I understand if you don't want me anymore, but please, tell me. I can't stand this silence, this distance anymore.' Damon was pleading, he knew that his voice sounded desperate, but he had to convey to her how he felt. Suddenly, Elena gasped and he looked back at her, watching tears weave their way from her eyes, now ringed with dark circles from her lack of sleep.

'How could you possible think I didn't want you anymore?' Her voice was thick with emotion. 'You should be the one kicking me out of your bed, hating me. St- He's gone because of _me!' _Elena hadn't been able to say his name, and her voice had broken on the last word. She buried her head into her hands and let giant, silent sobs rock her body. Damon sat for a little while, stunned. How could she blame herself for this? _Because it's what she does, _the voice inside his head whispered. He knew that, he knew she took on every loss and every pain upon herself. Damon should have known that she would turn all that hatred into herself. As soon as the realisation hit him, he reached out and pulled the sobbing girl against his chest.

'No!' She choked out, trying to pull away from him. 'No, Don't _comfort _me. I don't deserve it. I don't-' Elena broke off into sobs again, and Damon kept tight hold of her, whispering sweetness, soothing words to her while she tried to calm down.

Slowly, he put a hand under her chin and tried to raise her head so he could meet her eyes, but she resisted.

'Elena..' Damon's voice was quiet and gentle, 'Elena, love, please look at me. You need to see this, know that I mean it.' Slowly, Elena raised her tear streaked face up so that she could look at him, so that she could see the sincerity in his eyes.

'I don't blame you, I never have. In fact, I blame myself. But really, it was neither of our faults. Not even Stefan's really. Klaus is to blame for it all. For what happened to you. For what happened to Stefan… It's all Klaus, and he's safely daggered and put away now.' Damon realised now that he meant every word he said. He'd gone weeks blaming himself and believing that Elena blamed him too, Elena had gone every night believing it was her own fault, and believing that Damon thought so too. They had both been wrong, and realisation was dawning in both of their faces now.

'Klaus..' Elena whispered up to him, and he nodded. What seemed like ten years of age that she had gathered seemed to drop from her face at that moment. Her eyes looked a little brighter, though still clouded with tears, her shoulders were not so hunched with the grief.

'Klaus.' She exclaimed this time, the realisation becoming stronger now. She had someone other than herself to blame, she knew that Damon blamed him too, this was better. Suddenly, she was leaning upwards, straining against Damon's constricting arms around her waist, and kissed him. Her lips crushed against his with fever and passion and pain, and Damon replied just as eagerly when he realised what was happening. They were both forgiving themselves a little bit, this was their prize.

Damon growled, low in his throat, and turned with Elena in his arms so that he was hovering above her. He held his weight from her, but let her feel his body so very, very close. Close than they had been In weeks. Her leant down to crush their swollen mouths together again and the moving his kisses down along her jaw, her throat, her collarbones, while she got her breath back.

'I love you,' Elena whispered, 'I love you, I love you, I love you.' Over and over she whispered it until Damon's lips crushed hers again and she had to stop. A moment later he paused his lips still pressed against hers, their mouths open.

'I love you more than anything in this world.' His sweet breath swept across her mouth, 'don't you ever forget that.' Then once again, his mouth was on hers. Damon didn't know where to progress from there, sure Elena was all healed up physically, but maybe she wasn't emotionally ready for this.

He was wrong.

Not a minute later, Elena was pulling Damon's soft grey t-shirt up, trying to get it over his head. Damon sat up a second and pulled it off himself, falling back lightly on top of her and smothering her in another deep, sweet kiss. It felt in that moment like he was a man dying of thirst, and Elena was the first pool of cool water he had come across in days. He wondered how he'd ever lived before her and if he would continue to live if she ever were to disappear from his life.

Quick as a flash, trying to abolish the thoughts of a life now without Elena, he rolled her over so that she was straddled over the top of him. He pulled at her top now, dragging it off over her head and then holding her body perfectly so that his kisses and light nips could reach along the top of her breasts, across the top of her quivering stomach. Her hands explored the flat, toned planes of his chest and stomach, her light fingertips teased him so much at the top of his boxers that he shifted her a little so that she was out of that reach. Elena didn't like that, so she leant down, laying her head on his chest and pulled his already hardening nipples into her mouth, one at a time. Damon growled, reached down and literally ripped her own shorts off of her. She didn't seem to mind, she just kept laying kisses and strokes of her soft, warm tongue along his chest, down his stomach. Lower and lower each time. A moment later, Damon had his own shorts torn off, too impatient to wait, and he rolled over again, holding their naked bodies just centimetres apart. He looked down at her perfect face, memorising every detail to his memory. Elena looked right back up at him, her eyes slightly unfocused, her mouth parted slightly, her breath coming in perfect little pants.

'I've missed you.' Damon whispered down to her, leaning over and pressing soft lips to her mouth, little butterfly kisses. They needed no preparation for this, nothing but this moment. It felt like they'd been waiting a lifetime, like they'd been apart for years and not touched each other once. Damon held her close to his body and pushed into her slowly. Slowly. He watched her as her face contorted with the pain/pleasure of it before the pleasure won out and she gave herself over to it. Finally, they were together again.

Elena lay content and warm, cuddled against Damon's still slightly sweaty body. His long, muscled arms wound around her and he pressed his lips against her hair, his breathing deep and steady. Neither of them wanted to go to sleep, they were both just content to be back in the others arms. It was like they had finally come home.

'Damon?' Elena murmured after they'd been laid in comfortable silence for about twenty minutes.

'Mmm?' He replied quietly into the top of her head. Elena moved slightly so that she could look up at him.

' We're safe now, right?' She asked him, his eyes smouldering down at her. His mouth twisted into a genuine, perfect smile.

'Yes, we're safe now love.' He whispered back to her. Elena's entire body relaxed even more at those words, her eyes closed in pure happiness, when she opened them again, pure emotion filled them.

'I love you.' She said to him, her words ringing clear throughout the room.

'I love you too, forever.' Damon replied, pulling her back into his embrace.

'Forever.' Elena whispered into his chest, and finally, entwined together for the first time in weeks. They fell asleep.


End file.
